Ghost Orchid
by Broken.Skylit.Lights
Summary: Hope is all that we have anymore. Hope for the next dawn, hope for the ones we love to be living, hope for the next meal. But what do you do when that hope is gone? DarylxOC. New summary. Hope it's better than the first.
1. When The Dead Start Walking-Revised

It had been two weeks since the world had gone down the shit hole. Maybe. Unless this was a very very long, detailed, horrible bad dream. Would someone even call it a bad dream? No, I wouldn't think so. This was a nightmare.

I grew up in Georgia, about forty miles west from Atlanta, in the country. Once I turned eighteen, some shit happened, certain relationships ended, and I realized there was nothing left for me there. So I packed my things up, bought a one way plane ticket to California and moved. I loved it there. It was warm, but not the humid kind of warm where you couldn't keep your hair straight for anything. Everyone was different from each other, and everyone was beautiful in their own way.

But after three years of living on the complete opposite side of the United States, I returned home to Georgia. A place that I had really never wanted to see again. But my mom had died when I was young, and my dad was getting sick. He couldn't live on his own anymore, and I was the only family he had. So like a good southern raised girl, I returned home to help my only parent. It was the right thing to do, no matter how much I didn't want to leave California.

You can never get away from the south.

I had been home for a month before I finally decided to reach out to the reason I had left anyway. I had argued with myself all day about picking up that phone and calling him. I told myself that he probably didn't live there anymore, and even if he did, he had obviously moved on from me. There would be no reason that he would want anything to do with me. I finally had talked to my dad about it. He told me that he still lived in the same rundown old house and that he had run into him a few times in town. Every time he did, he always asked how I was doing. If I was going to come home. If I had anyone in my life.

Each time my dad gave him the same answers. I was doing better than I was when I left. Probably not anytime soon. No one that he knew of.

I finally gathered all of the courage I could find, and picked up the phone. I didn't have to look for his phone number. All of the times I had dialed it as a teenager, it was still burned into my subconscious.

"_Hello?" his gruff voice said, answering the phone._

"_Hey," was all I could say. My heart leapt to my throat when I heard him. I knew it was him. I knew his voice from anywhere I swallowed and took a deep breath. "It's..it's me."_

"_Who's me?"_

"_Who do you think?" I said, smiling. _

"_...Rae?" he said after a few moments. I had to swallow my heart back down, and smiled at the sound of his voice saying my name again._

"_I want to see you again."_

"_When?" _

"_Next Tuesday. Around five? At the restaurant we used to always go to."_

"_Okay. I'll be there."_

"_I'll see you then, I guess."_

But that Tuesday never came. Three days later, the dead started to rise. I was forced to high tail it to Atlanta, hoping that they were able to medivac my dad like they had told all the hospitals they would. But I never made it to Atlanta. The highways had been so congested, that it came it a complete stand still for hours.

I had fallen asleep in my car, and was startled awake but the sounds of screams from outside. I grabbed my knife, gun, and my bag of clothes and personal items that I had managed to gather and darted into the woods, dodging around the walkers and the people being eaten.

And for the last two weeks, that's where I was. The woods. Scavenging what I could. But that was only getting me so far. I had three or four bottles of water in my bag, and those were used up about a day ago. I was thirsty from the Georgia heat, hungry, and exhausted. And I was alone.

I hadn't found any survivors. It made me believe that everyone was really dead. And that I was the only one alive anymore.

He'd be proud of that. After all the times he dragged me out hunting, forced me into camping trips and fishing. He'd be proud to know that I survived this long. But he had to be alive too. He was the one that taught me all of these things that I used to stay alive. How could I be alive, and he couldn't?

Maybe he was still alive, out there somewhere. Maybe he was searching for me. I snorted at that. I was getting ahead of myself. He knew he was the reason I left. Why would he come looking for me? He'd probably just assume I was dead. He probably hated me.

But that didn't keep me from hoping, that maybe, just maybe, he was alive. And he was okay. And that he was looking for me too.


	2. A Welcomed Face-Revised

The heat was going to kill me before any walker could. I was leaning forward, my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath in the humid air. I squinted my eyes into the trees, trying to find my sense of direction. Maybe if I made it back to the highway, I could follow it somewhere. Stay in the tree line, out of obvious sight, and walk along it. Maybe there were others.

But I didn't know which way I had run, two weeks ago. So I was walking in circles. With my luck, I was going the wrong way. But then again, with my luck if I went with that logic, I would be going the right way, and turn around going the complete opposite direction again.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself, and ran the back of my hand over my forehead, wiping the sweat away. "I am so fucking lost."

I stood there and tried to regroup myself. I took in my surroundings, noting things that I could use as landmarks. But there was nothing but trees. And dirt. And ferns. And trees. More ferns. More dirt.

I was about to let out a stream of curse words when I heard groaning to the left of me. I pressed to the back of a tree, my gun in my hand faster than I could register grabbing for it. There were three walkers headed right towards me. I was afraid to shoot my gun, because I wasn't exactly sure how many rounds I had, and I was afraid it would draw more attention from other walkers. I slowly drew my knife with my other hand, careful to not let them see me. But apparently they already had.

I felt one grab my arm and it was snapping its teeth at me, trying to get a bite out of my arm. I shoved my knife into its eye, and felt it pop through the handle of the knife. I would have gagged if I had any thing in my stomach. I yanked it out as another one came around the other side of the tree. It grabbed at my shirt, ripping it while trying to pull me towards it. I batted its hand away and it reached for me again snapping at me. I took my knife and moved around its hand to stab it in the temple. I felt the walkers weight slump. The third walker came at me before I could get my knife dislodged. It lunged at me and tackled me to the ground. I scrambled for my gun, trying to get away from it, yet trying to push it away at the same time. My hand finally was able to reach the grip of the gun. I knew there was no was I was going to be able to shoot it from this distance trying to fight it off at the same time. Keeping my hand around it's neck and pushing it away so its teeth couldn't sink into me, I struggled my legs underneath it so I could free my hand.

I gathered all the strength I could manage while still pushing against it's entire weight and tried to bash it against the temple. After three tries I finally hit it in the side of the head hard enough that it had to let me go. I was on my feet in a flash, my gun in my hand, and I took off running into the trees. I really did not want to shoot my gun if I didn't have to. I heard it stalk after me, and I pushed myself harder to get away from it.

I snuck a glance behind me. I was starting to loose sight of the walker. Before I could look back, I tripped on something. I landed on the ground at full force, my head slamming into a rock that was hidden by the wild ferns. I let out a groan of pain, as stars danced in my eyes. I could feel the blood dripping already. All the sounds from the woods were drowned out by a ringing in my ears, and all the colors started to blur together.

I couldn't pass out. I had to will myself to get up and get away from the walker. I started to lift myself up, but I was hit with a violent wave of nausea from the world spinning. I knew I had to use my gun. I had no other choice. I wasn't going to let this walker get me. I wouldn't turn into one of those things. I managed to roll to my side as the walker approached as quickly as it could. I aimed my gun with shaky hands, and as my vision started to blur again, I pulled the trigger. It missed. I swallowed shakily, and focused again, though this time my vision didn't focus. I pulled the trigger again. It fell to the ground with a dull thud.

I took a deep, pain filled breath, rolled to my back and stared up into the leaves of the trees above me. I knew I needed to get away from this area. But I couldn't bring myself to move. My head was swimming and I knew if I moved, I would vomit. I laid there watching the colors blur, un blur and then blur together again. The sounds of everything went from being loud, to just a dull noise in the back of my head.

Suddenly there were two faces above me. Their features didn't register in my mind. All I knew is that they weren't dead. I could hear them talking quickly and frantically, but I couldn't figure out what they were saying.

A face came close to mine, and I was almost able to focus, but not quite. "Stay with us, okay? We're going to help you. Just stay with us." The voice sounded weird. It sounded like it was echoing, and sounded like there was two. The person lifted me from the ground, and I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head.

* * *

><p>Daryl sat on the lowered tailgate of his truck, cleaning his arrows, away from everyone else. Merle was somewhere he had no idea of.<p>

"Shane! Oh my god!" A woman from the camp exclaimed.

Daryl's attention snapped to Shane and Morales coming out of the woods, a girl being carried by Shane. Her hair was caked in blood on one side, and she had blood dripping down her face. He stood up from the back of the truck, and quickly walked over to the group gathered around the girl.

"We found her in the woods. She killed a walker with a gun and we heard it. She must have fallen," he said, adjusting her in his arms.

Her head rolled to the side. Daryl felt his stomach drop. It was Larae. He could tell, even through all the sweat, dirt, blood and grime covering her face. Her hair should have been a dead give away. Only a few shades darker than the drying blood, it was the oddest hair color he had ever seen.

When her head touched Shanes arm, she flinched and her eyes started to flicker open. Daryl pushed through the rest of the group to get to her. Her eyes fully opened, but he could tell that she was trying to focus. She closed her eyes again, and started to relax again.

"Larae," he said, approaching the two. Shane looked at him oddly.

"You know the girl?"

He ignored him and reached out to touch the girls cheek. Her eyes snapped open and focused on him.

"Daryl," she said, a smile coming to her face. "I was looking for you. I must be dead, right?"

"Nah. Ya ain't dead. Ya bumped yer head pretty good."

She smiled again. "I do that a lot, don't I?"

"We're gonna fix ya up, an' we can talk then, okay?"

She nodded slightly, and flinched at the motion. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her eyes closed, and her body relaxed. Shane rushed into the RV away from everyone, Jaqui, Dale and Lori at his heels. He stood outside the RV and rubbed the sweat from his forehead.

Dale appeared in the door way. "Daryl, we could use you. If she wakes up again, it'll help to see a familiar face."

He scowled at that. "Yeah, an' if she's coherent at all, she'll probably just start yellin' at me," he said,

following him into the RV.

Jaqui was cleaning the blood and dirt from where she had hit her head. "It needs stitches, but we don't have the supplies for that," she said, a pained look on her face when she touched the wound and Larae, flinched and a painful noise escaped her lips. She was still unconscious.

"We'll just have to bandage her up really well and keep the wound clean from infection. It's all we can do," Dale said, gathering bandages, and what little ointment they had in a first aid kit. Daryl stood back and watched as they worked on her head. His eyes never left her face. She definitely wasn't the teenager she used to be. In the last three years, her face lost the last little bit of baby fat that she had in her cheeks that she used to always complain about. She looked like she weighed a little less, but that could be because she was in the woods for who know's how long.

He chewed on his nail and leaned in the doorway. He wasn't sure how she was going to react when she woke up. She was the one who called him and wanted to see him. Not that he didn't want to see her. But she could have just wanted to see him so she could yell at him.

* * *

><p>"Larae," a voice whispered through the blackness that fogged my mind. I felt movement in my hand, and warmth enveloped it. I managed to flutter my eyes open, but they quickly shut again from being so heavy. "Can ya hear me?"<p>

I opened my eyes again to see a fuzzy outline of a man. I tried to answer, but my voice faded to a quiet murmur at my lips. I closed my eyes again. My head hurt. I just wanted to go back to sleep. I felt a hand touch my cheek. I opened my eyes again. This time the face focused.

"Daryl," I said, though it was probably more of a whimper. "You're okay."

"'A course I am. Ya saw me earlier."

"I was looking for you," I murmured.

"I know. Ya told me."

"Mm," I smiled a little and my eyes shut again. They were so hard to keep open. I heard him say something else, but I couldn't understand him. My mind was getting foggy again. Or maybe it was foggy the entire time and this was my subconscious showing me what I wanted to see. Oh well. It didn't matter. I was dead. Or dying. At least he was here in my mind.

The hand squeezed mine again as I drifted back to sleep.


	3. Elephant In The Room-Revised

If this is what dead feels like, I call bullshit. My head was pounding. My eyes felt like sandpaper behind my weighed down eyelids. My limbs felt like they were filled with sandbag. The nausea I felt before was still in full swing, tossing and turning my stomach, but my mouth was so dry that I couldn't even dry heave. I let out a small groan and I felt my lower lip split open from dryness. I went to rub my head where I hit it on the rock and felt bandages. The pressure from my touch send a wave of throbbing pain through my temples. I opened my eyes and sunlight poured into my senses, blinding me for a few moments. I sat up and looked around, my eyes still adjusting to the light. I was in some sort of RV that looked like it was from the eighties.

So the RV wasn't a hallucination, that means I'm not dead. Hopefully at least. And I could hear voices outside, so I knew the people weren't either. But was Daryl a hallucination? It just seemed to good to be true. I was attacked by walkers, I managed to bust my head open on a camouflaged rock, shoot the walker that was chasing me and the first thing to find me laying there completely defenseless was living people who brought me back to the group that Daryl was apart of.

I rubbed my eyes, and stood from the bed I was on.

I had to steady myself. My head started to swim at the sudden movement and altitude change. It took me a moment to push away the wave of nausea that hit me. I clutched at my head that still felt it was about to split open. I could still feel where the blood was dried under the bandages. After a few moments, the pain was just starting to dissipate. I ignored it as best as I could and slowly made my way to the door of the RV. I pushed open the door, and stepped out into the sun.

There was a large group of people. Around fifteen or so. They were laughing together, smiling, talking and acting like a large family. I leaned against the RV, feeling my head start to spin again. There were still living people. I clutched my head again and let out a small groan as a wave of pain shot through my skull. This drew me attention from an older man in a bucket hat. He stood up and walked over to me, and that drew even more attention from everyone else.

"You need to be resting," he said, once he approached me. "You're just barely on your feet."

"I'm fine," I said, forcing myself to step away from the RV so I could show that I didn't have to lean on it. I felt my stomach do a flip from the movement, but I hid it. "I just got a little light headed for a second."

He shook his head "You have a very serious concussion. You need to rest."

"I've done worse," I said, crossing my arms. "I'll be fine."

"Ya ain't gonna get anywhere with her, old man. She's as stubborn as a damn mule."

I looked towards the new voice to have my eyes land on the elder Dixon brother. "Merle?"

He grinned at me. I could tell from where I was standing, thirty feet away from him that he was on drugs again. I shook my head inwardly. I couldn't imagine how much of a handful he was during the apocalypse. I immediately felt bad for the people of the camp. I knew how he could be when he was strung out. He strode up to me, his cocky grin never leaving his face.

"Little brothers gonna skin your ass for bein' up."

I swallowed a lump that developed in my throat. So Daryl wasn't a hallucination. He was real. And he was here. "Where is he?"

"Probably in the tent. I'll go get 'im for ya so ya can kiss and make up," he laughed, walking away.

I felt my head spin again and stumbled backwards, to have Dale steady me. "Go in the RV and lay down. Daryl will be in there in a minute. I'll send him in with some food for you, okay? Do you think you're up to eating?"

I nodded, and he smiled at me.

"Thank you," I said, before I went inside. "For helping me I mean."

He gave me a slight nod with a smile and walked over to the group of people. I walked into the RV and welcomed the bed as I laid down. My head was pounding and the world was spinning. I sat up and leaned on the wall behind me as I heard the door swing open. I felt my heart flutter from nervousness.

Daryl walked to where I was laying and awkwardly stood in the door with a plate of food. Part of me wanted to jump up and hug him and never let go and apologize for ever leaving. Another part of me wanted to get up, walk passed him and leave the group completely. But I had a feeling I wouldn't make it twenty feet before my head befriended the ground again.

"Hey," I said.

He grunted something and handed me the plate of food. His hand brushed mine and he pulled it away like I shocked him. I almost sighed, but I held it in. He was probably expecting me to start screaming at him any second. He stood back away from me and didn't say anything.

"You can sit down. I won't attack you," I said, moving my feet so he had room to sit. He looked at the spot then back to me. "Promise."

He sat down on the edge of the bed slowly. I sighed and looked down at my plate for the first time. Beans and an unidentified meat. Probably spam. I sat it off to the side. My head hurt to bad for me to be hungry. Daryl watched me closely, eyeing every movement. I figured it was because he was waiting for me to attack him and if he had his guard up then he could defend himself.

"How'd ya get yerself so banged up?" he asked finally.

"I was attacked by a few walkers while I was lost in the woods. Took out two of them, but the third one chased after me. I tripped, my head was able to find the one fucking rock within fifty damn feet around me and I shot the third one before whoever found me stumbled upon me." I knew us reuniting was going to be awkward. But I didn't realize that we were addressing the situation like there was an elephant in the room. "How long had I been out?"

"Ya were in an' out for two days. Never really awake. Jus' muttered to yerself a lot."

"What was I muttering about?"

"Stuff," he said looking away.

I rolled my eyes. "How informative."

He became silent as he stared off to the side, chewing on his lower lip. The elephant in the room just seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. But I had no idea as to how I was supposed to address it. Did I just start talking about it? Or ease him into it? He moved his eyes to me.

"Ya need to eat."

I looked at the food beside me. "My head hurts too much."

"Th' hell does yer head gotta do with yer stomach?"

"It makes me not hungry."

"That don't make sense."

"Neither does the fact you're acting like there isn't a huge elephant in the room."

He narrowed his eyes at me and brought his finger to his lips, motioned to his ear and pointed up, and to the window.

Oh. Now I understood why. We had eavesdroppers.

_Later _he mouthed to me. "Eat," he grunted.

I nodded and picked up the plate of food. "If I eat will you quit acting like a mother hen?"

"I ain't no damn chicken."

"You are the one with the pecker." He scowled at me. "That was fucking funny, and you know it." He muttered something that sounded something along the lines of stupid good for nothing woman and stood up. He started to stalk towards the door. "Daryl," I called after him. He glared over his shoulder at me and paused waiting for me to continue. "I don't know if I said this already while I wasn't fully awake. But I'm glad you're okay. I knew if anyone could make it, you could. And I'm glad you did."

His look softened a bit. But it was barely noticeable. He simply nodded his head and left the RV, leaving me alone.

* * *

><p>A few days passed before I could stand by myself and not be overthrown by nausea or the world spinning. The second day I had fully been awake in the RV, I forced Daryl to take me down to the quarry so I could atleast rinse out my hair that was caked in blood. He bitched and moaned about it the entire time he helped me out of the RV and into his truck, me giving him a look that he described as "A shit-eatin' smile that made him want to drown me in the quarry."<p>

But now I was trying to set up a tent that someone in the group had let me borrow. I didn't want to stay in the RV any longer. It was driving me mad. I couldn't handle being cooped up in the vehicle with three other people at night. It was claustrophobic. Amy, Andrea and Dale were nice, but I couldn't handle it.

The tent was giving me issues though. I hadn't set up a tent in years so the knowledge of how to set it up had all but slipped my memory. I was kneeled infront of it staring down at the rods and cloth when I heard someone approach me.

"Need some help?" I lifted my eyes to see the one I had been introduced to as Glenn.

"That would be awesome," I said smiling.

He returned the smile eagerly and went to work connecting the rods and sliding them into the designated slots. "So how do you know the Dixons?" he asked.

I figured I was going to get asked this eventually. "We were friends as kids and teenagers," I said, handing him one of the rods. "Well, Daryl and I were. Merle was never really there. We grew up down the street from eachother."

As if he knew he was being talked about, Daryl exited the tent, his eyes almost immediately falling on me. He then looked at Glenn and the tent. He scoffed, picked up his crossbow and walked into the woods. Glenn and I looked at eachother and shrugged. Daryl was always pissed about something or another. It was best just to leave him alone.

Although I never did what was best for me. Once I could get away from the group, I was going to go find him.


	4. His Girl-Revised

I was able to get away from the group long enough to sneak off into the part of the woods that Daryl disappeared into after about ten minutes. I knew he couldn't have gotten too far. He wouldn't just start stalking off in any direction unless he picked up on something. After all the times he forced me to go hunting with him I knew how he worked. And only after a few minutes, I was able to track him down.

He was standing with his crossbow aimed at a tree's branches. He shot the arrow into the branches and soon after, a small brown creature fell from the tree, an arrow piercing through it. He retrieved the arrow and the now dead squirrel.

"Now what did that squirrel ever do to you?" I asked him.

He spun around his hand on his knife. He dropped his hand when he realized it was me and not a walker.

"Th' hell are ya doin' out here?"

"Following you."

"Why?"

"Because we need to talk. And there's no other place to go without someone breathing down our necks.

"Now ain't the time," he scoffed while loading his crossbow.

"Oh really? When is it going to be time?"

"Don't start with me Rae."

I crossed my arms and just stared at him. He glared at me back. "Daryl, I don't want to fight, or yell. I just want to talk."

"Fine. But not here. Any of them nosey ass people come lookin' they'll find us."

I nodded and he turned on his heel and moved deeper into the woods. I picked my pace up so I was only a few steps behind him. We walked in silence, his eyes never leaving the trees. Always searching. Always scanning. We walked for what felt like hours, before he finally stopped and turned to me.

He didn't say anything.

"Why?" I asked finally, lowering my eyes to the ground.

"Whut do ya mean?"

"Why didn't you stop me from leaving?"

"Didn't figure it'd do any good."

I lifted my eyes to him. He wasn't looking at me. His lips were pursed into a scowl his brows furrowed over his sky blue eyes. He stood awkwardly, his crossbow hanging at his side from his hand his other hanging at his side as well.

"I called you. I told you I was leaving. Why would I have done that if I didn't want you to stop me?"

"T' shove it in my face that I fucked up."

"You really think I would do that?" He didn't say anything. I stood there for a moment in silence. Trying to figure out what I wanted to say. "Why did you do it?"

He took a deep breath and turned his eyes to me. "I was mad. I wasn't thinkin'."

"'Ey! Little brother! Where'd yer white ass go?" Merles voice boomed through the woods.

Daryl cursed under his breath. "Fuckin' idiots gonna attract every damn walker for miles." He turned his attention to me. "You'd better get back to camp before he find's ya out here with me." I nodded. We'd never hear the end of it if Merle found us out here alone. He'd go on and on about how we we're going to do nasty things that no one except Merle Dixon could think of. And that's not something I particularly wanted to be spread around camp. "Ya gotta weapon with ya?"

"No. I left my knife in the skull of a walker, and my gun is in the tent," I looked towards where his voice was coming from. "He better not start making a habit of this."

When I looked back to him, I could see a faint smile on his face. He knew what I was talking about. He remembered. He pulled his knife out from his waist band and handed it to me. "Be careful," he said, his eyes never leaving mine.

I nodded and took the knife from him and put it in the belt I was wearing. I turned to leave, but stopped. I turned back towards Daryl.

"Whut?"

I threw my arms around his waist, and hugged him as tight as I could. He stiffened when I did, but I didn't let go. I wasn't expecting him to hug me back. In fact, I fully expected him to push me off of him. But, instead he stood there, and let me hug him. I finally pulled away when I heard Merles voice call for him again, this time closer. I turned on my heel, and ran back to camp.

* * *

><p><em>Daryl was laying next to me, both of us out of breath and a thin layer of sweat. He was laying on his back, the sheet over his waist, and I was laying on my stomach next to him. I could feel the cool air against my exposed back. <em>

_I lifted myself on my elbows, and his eyes moved to mine._

"_Are ya okay?" he asked me, his hand reaching out and finding a lock of my hair._

_I blushed. "Yeah," I said quietly. My hips were a little sore from him pawing at me, and giving him my first time. But I was on cloud nine._

"_Oh little brother!" Merles voice called._

"_Fuck," Daryl muttered. He sat up on the side of the bed and pulled his pants on. "Stay here. I'll deal with 'im."_

_I nodded and he disappeared out of his bedroom door. Once he left the room, I got dressed. If Merle barged in here, the last thing I wanted was for him to find me naked. He would never let me live it down. I sat on the edge of Daryl's bed and waited form him to come back. _

_I felt a blush creep back to my face when I thought back to what just happened. The way his lips felt against my skin. His hands exploring, his eyes never leaving my body or face. The way he was gentle because he knew it was my first time, until the point I was begging him to move faster._

_I hid my face in my hands from my embarrassment flooding over me. Daryl was my best friend. He always had been since we were kids. But we were older now. I was seventeen, turning eighteen in a matter of three weeks. He was twenty-two. I knew any other person would think that was wrong. But he was only four years older than me. But what did this make us now? We were obviously more than just friends now. At about fifteen, I developed a crush on him. I had a crush on him since then. But I never thought the feelings were mutual. _

_Were they now? Or was it just lust?_

_It couldn't have just been lust. I had stopped him. I told him this was my first time. He asked me if I was okay with him going ahead. He asked me if I wanted him to stop, and that he wouldn't be upset if I did ask him to. He made sure I was okay with him being my first. He made sure I was comfortable, and every flinch, he stopped to make sure I was okay._

_Daryl entered the room again, and sat next to me on the bed. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him, so my head was resting in the crook of his neck. I wrapped my arms around his shirtless waist and sighed._

"_What're ya thinkin' about?"_

"_You."_

_He pressed his lips to my forehead. "What about me?"_

"_What are we now?"_

_He didn't answer at first. He just held me to him. I could feel the tears pricking the corners of my eyes. This was making me nervous. He wasn't saying anything. Maybe he was trying to figure out how to tell me it was just a one time thing? A spur-of-the-moment? _

"_I guess that makes ya my girl," he said, glancing down at me when I pulled my head away. "If ya want."_

_I smiled and threw my arms around his neck, pressing my lips to his. I pulled away and continued to hug him. "I never thought you'd ask."_

* * *

><p><em><em>A little more in depth of Larae and Daryls past together. There will be more in the next chapter. I just didn't want to overload everyone in this chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

Thank you thank you thank you for all the positive feedback! I really do appreciate it! Leave a review and let me know what you think!


	5. Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda-Revised

"_Ain't you the girl Daryl's been running around with recently?" _

_I looked behind me to see a blonde girl who was a little older than me, glaring at me from a group of girls surrounding her. They all had their sights set on me._

"_Um. Why?"_

"_I asked you a fucking question."_

_I was taken back by her hostility. I was just walking home from town. My dad needed me to get some stuff for him. I was simply walking down the sidewalk, headed home that was about half a mile away._

"_Yeah," I said guardedly. "Why?" She marched up to me and glared down at my five foot two frame. I went to take a step back from her, but she shoved me to the ground. I felt the pavement bite into my palms as the brown paper bag I was carrying spilled its contents to the ground. I tried to stand up, but she slapped me back down. "The hell is your fucking problem?" I snapped at her, my hand over my burning cheek._

_She snatched me by my hair and yanked it back. "Just wait til he's done with you, bitch. He'll come groveling back to me." She all but threw me back on the ground with another slap and stormed off, her gaggle of friends following behind her._

_I sat on the ground for a few moments, gathering myself. I snatched the bag and shoved the items back in it and stood. I could feel the tears gathering in my eyes as I quickly walked in the direction opposite of the girl. _

_As I got to the outskirts of town, the sound of a familiar roar of a truck pulled up behind me._

"_Rae!" Daryl's voice shouted over it. "Need a ride?"_

_I ignored him and kept walking. I did not want to talk to him right now. _

"_Larae, I know ya hear me!"_

_I kept walking, lowering my head and clutching the bag to me. He drove passed me in the truck and pulled it off to the side and climbed out, a smirk on his face. I could tell that he thought I was playing around. I glared at him and stopped where I was. The smirk disappeared from his face._

"_What's wrong?"_

"_I just got attacked by some fucking blonde bitch, Daryl. I was walking down the fucking street, minding my own fucking business, and she stops me, shoves me to the ground, gives me a few slaps about yanked my hair out of my head and starts spouting off shit of how once you're done with me you're going to grovel back to her." I shoved passed him and kept walking, the tears threatening to spill over. I knew if I blinked, they would fall. So I kept my eyes on the ground and tried my best to push them back._

_He pulled me back to him and turned me to face him. I glared up at him. "I'm sorry, Rae. I shoulda been there."_

"_Shoulda, coulda, woulda," I spat. "And what about this whole, 'once you're done with me, you'll go groveling back to her' bullshit?"_

"_She's an old fling. I told ya about her. Lacey."_

"_How long ago is an old fling? That was years ago Daryl. She seemed pretty fucking pissed for something that happened years ago." He looked away from me, guilt written on his face. "How fucking long ago, Daryl?"_

"_About six months ago."_

_I felt the tears start to fall down my face, as a laugh of disbelief escaped me. "We've only been together for five months."_

_The guilt on his face worsened. "I'm sorry. I shoulda told ya."_

"_Whatever," I said, storming away from him._

"_Rae, ya can't be so mad at me," he said, matching my step._

_I stopped again and faced him. "Oh, and why is that?"_

"_We weren't together when it happened."_

_I stared at him in disbelief. "That's your fucking excuse?" I felt our relationship crumble around me. Not just the romantic relationship we had. But the years of spending every day together as kids. The long summer days when we got older and he had convinced my dad to let him take me out hunting, camping and fishing. When he beat the kids up who picked on me, and when he cried to me about how he was scared to go home because of his good-for-nothing dad. "Just give me a little bit to cool off."_

_He didn't follow me as I continued to walk home. _

_0000_

_It had been about a day and a half since I had heard from Daryl. After I had cooled down, I realized that I was probably too hard on him. He was right in the sense of we weren't together when he got with the crazy blonde. I shouldn't have been angry with him. Yes, he should have told me. But he didn't deserve all of the anger aimed at him._

_I was walking towards his house, trying to think over my apology. I fiddled with the sleeves of my jacket from nervousness. I didn't know why I was so nervous. Probably because I was never good with apologies. If I didn't have to apologize for something, I didn't do it. I'd rather someone hate me than apologize. But Daryl was different._

_I walked up the steps to his house and walked inside. We never knocked. We just walked into eachothers houses. It's just how we were. He wasn't in the kitchen or livingroom. I knew he was there. His truck was pulled up in the driveway. I walked into the hallway and tried to listen for him._

_I heard movement in his room. I smiled and walked to the door that led to his room. It was cracked open. I ignored my nervousness and pushed open the door. And my heart shattered._

_Daryl was standing there shirtless his hands on the waist of the blonde girl that attacked me, who was only in her underwear. Her hands were trying to unbutton his pants. I covered my mouth to try and not make a sound, but the movement drew Daryl's attention to me._

_Without warning, I started to cry._

"_Shit," Daryl muttered, pushing her away from him and taking a few steps towards me. I shook my head and turned away from the two and made my way to the door. "Larae, let me explain."_

_I spun around to face him. He was standing a few feet away from me, his face drawn in guilt. "What the fuck is there to explain?!" I shouted at him. He flinched away from me, but still stood there. "I was angry Daryl! I needed time to calm down! It hasn't even been two days!"_

"_I know," he said quietly._

"_It wasn't over for me," I said, grimacing at my voice cracking. "I didn't say it was over. I said I needed to calm down. But I guess we're done now." I walked out the door and he didn't follow me. I ran home and hurried to my room so my dad wouldn't see the tear stains on my cheeks. _

_I kicked off my shoes and laid down hugging a pillow to me. I didn't understand why this hurt to much. We had only been together for two weeks. It wasn't some long committed relationship. But he betrayed my trust. After all these years, he destroyed it. Just like that. My best friend wasn't my best friend anymore. My only friend wasn't my friend anymore. I had no one now. That still didn't explain why my heart felt so broken. _

_Maybe the relationship was more serious than I thought it was. For me atleast. Obviously not for him._

_0000_

_I bought a plane ticket a few weeks later, with the college money that my mom had left for me. Fifty thousand dollars for college wasn't much. But it was enough to move away. Far far away. I bought a one-way plane ticket to Los Angeles. My dad didn't approve. But I had nothing left for me here. All of my other friends had moved away to go to college. I had decided that college wasn't for me and decided not to go._

_Daryl was the only thing left for me here. And that was over._

_The day of the flight, I had my things packed and ready. I had one last thing to do. I was going to tell Daryl I was leaving. If he wanted me to stay, I wouldn't leave. Part of me didn't want to leave. I just needed a reason to stay. And Daryl was that reason that I needed._

"_Hello?" he answered._

"_Daryl. It's Larae." I took a deep breath. "I'm leaving for California today."_

"_Oh?"_

"_Yeah. I'm not coming back." He didn't say anything. "I thought you should know."_

"_I'll miss ya," he said quietly._

_I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to cry. No Daryl, I urged him. Don't say that. That's not what I needed to hear. Tell me you want me to stay. Tell me not to go. Tell me you're sorry._

"_I'll miss you too. I should probably go though. The plane leaves in a few hours."_

"_Good luck."_

"_Thanks. I'll talk to.." I stopped. I wouldn't be talking to him later. "Goodbye, I guess."_

"_Bye, Rae."_

_I hung up the phone. That was it I guess. I pushed my tears away. I wasn't going to cry over him anymore. I was going to have a new start. I was going to be okay. I loaded my things into my dads truck and we headed towards the airport. _

_We drove by Daryl's house on the way. I almost thought I saw him standing in the doorway, watching us leave. But when I blinked, he was gone._


	6. Forgiveness Ain't So Easy-Revised

The days passed by in the camp. Everyone was always able to keep themselves busy. I found that from the moment I woke up, to the moment I went to sleep I always had something to do. I was either helping with laundry, cook, find firewood, keep watch or help with whatever needed to be done around camp.

I enjoyed it. It kept my mind off of the fact that the world had ended. And the fact that Daryl was avoiding me like I was the plague. It also let me get to know various people of the group. I hadn't realized just how much I missed human contact. I was usually a person who could be by themselves and be fine. In fact, I preferred it. But two weeks alone, constantly having to worry about a walker sneaking up on me and how I was going to survive lost in the Georgia woods.

But every single one of them questioned me about the Dixon brothers.

"How do you know them?" Amy asked. She, Andrea, Jacqui and I were down at the quarry washing clothes. I inwardly rolled my eyes. I figured this was coming eventually.

"Daryl and I were best friends as kids. Merle was in and out of the picture." I said, keeping it short and simple. It got old pretty fast that everyone was so amazed that the Dixon's could be decent to someone. Except Merle. Merle was an ass to everyone.

"Are you sure it wasn't more than that?" she probed. "We all saw the way he acted when you came into camp hurt. And the way he watches you."

"The way he watches me?" I asked.

"Have you not noticed it?" Jacqui asked, surprised.

"He watches you like a hawk," Andrea added. "It's like at any moment, he's gonna jump anyone that makes the wrong move."

"Oh." That's all I could say. I hadn't noticed him watching me, so this was news to me.

"I just don't trust them," Andrea said, matter-of-factually. Amy tried to shush her.

I looked at her surprised. "Why?" I asked.

"They seem like they'll turn on us at any point. Merle's a crude, racist, good-for-nothing, white trash redneck," I felt sparks of anger light inside me. "And Daryl will back him up no matter what. Merle could probably kill a man, and Daryl would just roll over for him and defend him. Like a dog."

The sparks of anger, turned to rage as I stood up and threw the clothes I was washing down. The three jumped at my sudden movement. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," I snapped at her. "Yes, Merle may be a dick, but that's how he's always been. You all aren't any thing fucking special for him to be acting that way. And Daryl is a good person if you would give him the time of day. Merles the only family he's got, so of course he's going to stand by his side. Isn't that what you do, Andrea?" I said, my voice rising in volume. "Honestly, the Dixon's are the people you would want to be stuck in the apocalypse with! They know how to survive! Last time I checked, that meat on your plates was because one of those 'good-for-nothing' Dixon's!" She didn't say anything and only looked at me in surprise. "Next time, keep your fucking opinion to yourself and don't go mouthing off like what you say fucking matters." I stormed off, leaving the three in stunned silence.

I was fuming as I started to walk back to camp. Where the hell did she get off thinking she could say those kind of things? I knew that's how the camp felt about them. It wasn't hard to figure out. But to talk about them like that? They put food on their plates without even being asked to, or thanked.

"Ungrateful lowlifes," I muttered to myself. "Stupid, idiotic, close-minded-"

"Whut're ya mutterin' to yerself now?"

I jumped at the sound of Daryl's voice and spun around to see him standing only a few feet away, a smug smirk on his face.

I scowled at him. "Nothing."

"Whut was all that yellin' about then?"

"You heard that?" I pursed my lips.

He didn't say anything. He simply walked passed me and started to head to the woods. He looked over his shoulder. "Wanna finish our talk?" he asked.

I nodded and followed after him. "Where did this come from?" I asked, matching his pace by his side. He shrugged and kept walking. I glanced at him skeptically. "How much of that conversation did you actually hear?"

"Ya shoutin'."

"Is that what brought this up?"

He looked at me. "Is that really whut ya wanna talk about?"

"I suppose not," I sighed. Daryl came to a stop and turned to me. I kicked at the dirt for a moment trying to find my words. "I have to ask why again," I said, looking off into the woods. "Why did you do it?"

"I told ya. I wasn't thinkin'."

I shook my head. "You've got to give me a better reason than that." I met his gaze. He was chewing on his lip.

"I was angry that ya were pissed at me. An' it was my fault ya got hurt. An' that I didn't know how to make things better. Ya know me, Rae. A girl got pissed at me, fuck 'em. But, with ya I wanted to fix it. An'...it freaked me out," he said with an almost pained look on his face. Daryl never talked about what he was feeling. Never.

I drew my attention back to the dirt and turned that over in my head. "But that doesn't explain why you did it," I said quietly.

I heard him take in a deep breath. "I don't know how to explain whut I did. I wasn't thinkin'. I don't know why I did it. I jus' did," he stopped for a moment and I looked up at him. "An' I'm sorry that I did. I wish I could give ya a better reason, 'cause you deserve one. But I jus' can't."

I smiled at that. "Is the great, almighty, never let anyone in, never talk about my feelings Daryl Dixon apologizing?"

He scowled at me. "Ya didn't have to put it like that."

My smile got wider. "That's all I wanted Daryl. Just an apology."

His scowl deepened. "Ya mean ya made me grovel at yer damn feet for nothin'?"

"I didn't make you do anything," I chided, my smile never leaving my face. "You did it willingly."

"Stupid fuckin' bitch," he muttered, brushing passed me. I almost laughed, but I figured that would irk him even more. I quickly caught up with him and grabbed his wrist. He glared at me from over his shoulder, but I ignored it and turned him to face me. "You didn't let me finish," I said, my hand never letting go of his wrist. "I forgive you."

He continued to glare at me, but I could tell that underneath he was struggling to keep the glare there. "So easily?" he asked, his guard up completely.

I smiled up at him and nodded. How could I stay mad at him for so long? Even after I moved away, I found it hard to stay mad at him. He was my best friend before everything happened. And it's hard to stay mad at the person who had always been there for you. Whether they fucked up big time or not.

"I don't believe ya."

I wrinkled my nose. "Why?"

"Ya never forgive anyone that easily."

"So?"

His eyes narrowed at me and stayed silent.

"You seriously don't believe me?" His silence gave me his answer. I sighed irritably and squeezed the bridge of my nose. "You heard me stand up for you like that and yet you don't believe me?" He grunted in response. "Whatever," I muttered, brushing passed him. I was done with this conversation. "Stupid, thick-headed bastard," I continued to mutter. I didn't hear him follow after me.

Why the hell was he being so defensive all of a sudden? He was the one who wanted to finish talking and yet he get's all hormonal and bitchy like I've gone and done something wrong. I stomped back to the main trail down to the quarry and followed it back up to camp, fuming the entire way. Before anyone could say anything to me, I went to my tent, and zipped it shut behind me.

If he was going to be like that, then fine. I wasn't going to try and fix things until he decided to put on his big girl panties and not be an asshole.

* * *

><p>Sorry about the lack of updates. My schedule at work got super crazy and it was hard for me to find time to do anything.<p>

Not really sure about how I feel about this chapter. Leave me a review and let me know what you think.


	7. Supply Run

"We're running low on supplies," Shane said that night when everyone had sat down for their nightly serving of beans and squirrel. "In the next few days, we're going to have to go into Atlanta to get more. Glenn has been able to make a few runs, but he can only carry so much."

"What do you mean we?" Amy asked.

Shane sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Glenn needs more people to go with him to help get the supplies we need. No one will be forced to go along. Only volunteers will go," he looked around the camp and made eye contact with everyone. "Glenn and any volunteers will leave in three days."

No one said anything as he sat down next to Lori who had a tight look on her face like she wanted to argue against the plan. Almost everyone looked like they wanted to. But all of us knew it was needed. I didn't say anything while I was eating. I was still silently fuming at Andrea and Daryl and didn't want to talk to either of them.

After I was finished, I went to my tent immediately so no one could try and talk to me. I sat on my sleeping bag with a sigh and leaned back on my hands and listened as everyone talked and started to settle down for the night. But the main topic amongst the group was this supply run and talking about if they were going to go or not.

I mused over the idea after everyone had settled down. I could handle myself with a gun. I wasn't perfect with it, but I could manage. And sitting in camp washing clothes and doing dishes was making me stir crazy. I needed something productive to do. It was _Atlanta_ though. And judging from what Gleen told up from all of his supply runs, it was filled to the brim with walkers.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard movement outside my tent. Someone approached quietly and stopped infront of the opening that was zipped closed.

"Rae," Daryls voice said quietly. If I was asleep, I wouldn't have heard him. "Ya up?"

"That depends," I answered. "Are you going to come in here and be an asshole if I say yes?"

He unzipped the flap to the tent, stepped inside and zipped it back behind him. He stood awkwardly for a moment before I sighed and patted the sleeping bag for him to sit down. He sat next to me stiffly and started to chew on his lip.

"Did you need something?" I asked after a few moments of silence. He sighed and leaned back on his hands.

"I shouldn't a' gotten mad earlier," he grumbled.

I smiled at him. "I know."

He glared at me. "Ya don't gotta be cocky about it."

I ignored his comment and leaned back on my hands also.

"Whut do ya think of this supply run?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "I think I'm going to go."

"Figured."

I looked over at him, and he was still chewing on his lip looking at everything but me. "What about you?" I asked.

"Nah. Merles gonna go. If I go, an' if it ends up takin' a few days these idiots won't be able to feed themselves." He shifted so that his elbows rested on his knees. "I don't like the idea of ya goin' though."

I didn't know what to say to that so I stayed quiet. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to say anything anyway. Daryl was never one to talk about his feelings. So if how he was feeling was something other than pissed off, irritated, or just him being calm, I never pressed it unless he did. Sometimes he just made off handed comments just to get them off his chest, not to have a long deep conversation about why he felt that way. I ran my fingers through my hair and yawned.

"Get some sleep," he said standing up. He unzipped the tent and stepped about. He gave me one last glance and zipped it shut behind him.

* * *

><p>Three days later, the supply group gathered in front of the RV. It was Gleen, Andrea, T-dog, Jacqui, Morales, Merle and I.<p>

"We get in and we get out," Glenn was explaining. "Don't draw attention to yourselves. Lay low. Don't shoot unless you have no other option. We're going to make this as quick and least dangerous as possible."

I was watching Merle out of the corner of my eye. He was grinning like a mad man and I could smell a sweet peppermint smell from him. I knew that smell from anywhere. He had very obviously to me just smoked a shit ton of cocaine meaning he was going to be a huge handful.

I barely heard Glenn list off a few things that we needed before we left. The group separated to gather what we needed and Daryl took the opportunity to approach me.

"Keep an eye on 'im," he muttered to me, both of our eyes on his older brother.

"I was planning on it," I said lifting my eyes to his face.

He glanced down to me. "But don't let 'im keep ya from protectin' yerself. Watch yer own back, too."

"What're you going to be doing while we're gone?"

He shrugged. "Probably go huntin'. I've been seein' signs of deer around. Maybe I'll go an' try and find one."

"Be careful," I said after a moment.

"You too," he said. He stared down at me and lifted his hand to the side of my head and ran his fingers through my hair and rested his hand on the base of my neck. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him into a hug. "Come back alive, ya hear?"

"I will," I said pulling away.

He nodded and went to pick up his crossbow. I watched him as he walked to the other side of the camp and head towards the woods.

"Larae, you coming?" T-Dog called from the car we were taking to the outskirts of the city.

"Yeah," I said, jogging over to them. I got into the car and sat in the back seat. It was a large SUV that we were taking so all of us could fit. Glenn was driving and Merle took it upon himself to take the passengers seat. I sat behind Merle with Jaqui and T-dog, and Andrea and Morales were behind us.

All of us were silent. I could feel the tension and the nervousness build as we approached the city. But Daryl was still in the back of my mind. What was that back at the camp? What were we now? We're we anything?

Merle shifting in his seat pulled me out of my thoughts. I saw him starting at me with a grin in the side view mirror. I shook my head. I couldn't be caught up in my thoughts now. After we got back to camp I could figure everything out. Now was just not the time. I had to keep myself alive and still keep an eye on a coked out duggie that was a hair-trigger away from snapping and getting everyone killed. But Daryl needed me to watch him. Try and keep him alive. So I would try.

* * *

><p>"This is as far as we go," Glenn said stopping the car and turning it off. He got out of the car and everyone followed. We followed after him as he led us to a chainlink fence that had been cut so someone could roll it back and get through. He stopped before he went through. "That's where we're trying to get to," he said, pointing to a top of a building that we could see over the warehouses we were around. "It's about a mile and a half into the city and that's where we're going to be elbow deep in walkers. Stay quiet and keep talking to a minimum until we can get to the tops of the buildings."<p>

He led us through the fence and I could already smell the decaying scent of walkers. We stayed pressed to the sides of the buildings as Glenn moved ahead of us, motioning when it was okay to move forward to the back of another building. He would move ahead quickly. Look around, dash to the other building and look on the otherside and motion us forward. And this repeated until we were in the city.

I could feel the head bearing down on us even in the shadows of the buildings. The sweat was running down my back, covering my arms, running down my face and into my eyes. It was hard to tell if I was sweating from the heat though. Every sound, every movement, every rustle caught my attention and my hand was constantly gripped around the handle of my pistol in the waist of my jeans.

Glenn finally came to an alleyway and led us down it quickly. There was a metal ladder there that led to the top of the building. He motioned us up it. Morales and T-dog went first. Andrea started to climb the ladder and I took a deep breath as I climbed after her, Merle behind me. Glenn followed once we had reached about halfway.

Morales helped me over the side of the building as I reached the top. "Thanks," I breathed, brushing the sweat from my forehead. I pulled my hair into a knot as Glenn pulled himself over the side of the building.

"Okay. Once we get inside, I have no idea if there will be walkers or not. Keep your eyes open. Grab only what you can carry. We don't need anything weighing us down if we've got to run."

A loud bang of what sounded like a gunshot echoed through the city.

"What the hell was that?" Andrea almost shouted, running to the edge. All of us followed quickly and watched as a man on a horse was being swarmed by walkers.

"Oh god," Jacqui murmured, her hands over he mouth.

"Dumbass," Merle snickered pushing away from the edge and away from the scene before us.

The rest of us watched in horror as the horse was taken down and he scrambled under a tank. We heard more gunshots as walkers tried to follow him underneath. I felt my heart sink.

"He's done for," I said quietly. We watched for a few more moments and I felt my heart leap back as his head came up through the top of the tank and slammed the top down. "We have to help him!" I exclaimed.

"How?" Andrea asked, almost bitterly.

"Tanks have CB radios in them," T-Dog said. "Shane gave me one before we left. If we can find the right frequency, we can talk him through the tank. Get him out of there."

"Yeah, and who's going to go get him?" Merle chidded.

All of our eyes landed on Glenn who sighed. "I figured as much." He snatched the radio from T-Dog and moved to the edge of the building. He switched the radio on. "Hey you. Dumbass. Yeah, in the tank. Cozy in there?"

"This is suicide," Andrea muttered, storming off.

* * *

><p>I am so so so sorry about not updating. My job has me working my ass off and I've been so exhausted that when I come home I just go to sleep. I haven't had any time to write. I'm so sorry. I'll try to update faster, because this week seems like it's going to slow down.<p>

Finally, I got to the point of where the series starts. I've been excited to get here. I hope this chapter is okay.

But what about Daryl and Larae? What do you all want to see happen?

Lave me a review and let me know what you think!


	8. Survivor

"Hello? Hello!" His voice came back over the radio.

"You had me wondering," Glenn sighed.

"Where are you? Can you see me right now?" His voice was frantic.

All of us were watching between Glenn and the tank on edge. I was pacing back and forth, my eyes never leaving the tank or the walkers devouring the horse next to it. I knew what it was like to think you were alone and about to be eaten and just barely survive. I was willing him to live.

"Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by walkers," Glenn answered, standing at the edge of the building watching down over the walkers. "That's the bad news."

"There's good news?" I could almost hear the hope radiating from him just from the sound in his voice.

"No," Glenn said simply.

I glared at him and he shrugged.

"Way to get the guy's hopes up," I said, continuing to glare at him.

He ignored me as the mans voice came over the radio again. "Listen, who ever you are, I don't mind telling you, I'm a little bit concerned in here."

"Man, you should see from over here, you'd be having a major freak out."

"I swear to God, Glenn, quit it," I said, stabbing him in the arm with my finger.

The man didn't say anything for a moment. "Got any advice for me?" The hope was gone in his voice. Now it was just desperation.

"Yeah. I'd say make a run for it," Glenn said, eyeing me and turning his eyes back to the tank.

The line was completely silent again. "That's it? Make a run for it?" Now he sounded angry. Though I couldn't blame him.

"It's not as dumb as it sounds," he defended. "You got eyes on the outside here. There's one walker still on the tank, but the others have climbed down to join the feeding frenzy," Glenn's voice cracked at the last few words. "Where the horse went down. You with me so far?" I was still pacing. I couldn't pull my eyes from that tank.

"So far."

"Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded," he said quickly. "If you move now while they're distracted, you still have a chance. You got ammo?"

"In that duffle bag I dropped, and guns," my eyes immediately fell on the black bag that read sheriff next to the hoard of walkers. "Can I get to it?"

Glenn looked where I was looking and I pointed it out to him. "Forget the bag," he said quickly. "It's not an option. What do you have on you?"

The line went silent. I could almost imagine him scrambling around trying to find a gun, or extra ammo. "I got a barretta with one clip, fifteen rounds."

"Make them count," Glenn answered. "Jump off the right side of the tank, keep going that direction. There's alley that way, maybe fifty yards. Be there."

"Hey," he said, stopping Glenn from rushing down to the alley. "What's your name?"

"Have you been listening?" Glenn asked, exasperated. "You're running out of time!" Glenn shoved me the CB and dashed over to the stairs. "Get down stairs, and be prepared to cover us!" he exclaimed and climbed back down them without another word. I watched as the man pushed open the tank, hit a walker in the face with something, and jump down off the tank. I wasn't sure if everyone else around me was watching, but I couldn't draw myself away from the scene as I willed him silently to move, to go right, or left. With every gunshot, I felt my skin jump.

He disappeared into an alley different than the one we went into to get to the top of the building. I dashed down the stairs once we could no longer see the man. I wasn't sure who followed me. Once we got to the base of the stairs, Morales and T-dog grabbed the bats that they had with them, and waited for the sound quickly approaching feet before throwing open the door.

Glenn and the mysterious man rushed in and before anyone could do anything, Andrea had the man shoved up against a table, a gun pointed to his face.

"You son of a bitch," she barked. "I could kill you."

"Andrea, back off," Morales said, watching the gun.

"You're kidding me right? We're dead because of this stupid son of a bitch." Her gun was still trained on his face. His eyes never left hers and they were locked in a staredown.

"Andrea," Morales said, coming to her side. "I said, back the hell off." I was taken back. I had been at the camp for what seemed to be about a month, and I had never heard Morales curse. Not even close to curse. "Or pull the trigger," he said when she didn't lower the gun. She sighed and dropped it to her side and I felt myself relax and my fists unclench. I hadn't even realized I was so tense.

"We're dead," she murmured. "All of us."

"I don't understand," he said, his breathing labored.

Morales took him by the arm and led him out of the room. "Look, we came to the city to gather supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving. You know what the key to surviving is? Sneaking in and out. Not shooting up the streets."

"Every geek from miles around heard you," T-Dog continued once we were in the store.

"You just rang the dinner bell," Andrea added.

I was almost angry. Not at the man, but with the group of people I was with. Honestly, if it were them in that situation did they think they would have been able to make it without a gun? I know I sure as hell wouldn't have. Walkers were banging at the plexi-glass doors. Their groans of hunger almost drowned us out as they banged on the doors trying to get inside. And the glass was starting to break.

"It's starting to break!" I breathed, taking a step back with everyone following suit. "What were you doing out there anyway?" I asked, my eyes never leaving the door.

"Trying to find the helicopter," he said matter-of-factly.

"A helicopter?" T-dog asked, dumbfounded. "Man, that's crap, there ain't no damn helicopter."

"You were chasing a hallucination," Jacqui said. "It happens sometimes," she defended quickly.

"I know what I saw," he said, glaring.

"Larae, try that CB," Morales said. "See if you can contact the others."

I ignored their conversation as I switched through the channels trying to find a signal. "There's no signal," I said still trying. I lifted my eyes and looked over the group. There was someone missing. "Where's Merle?" I asked, suddenly aware that he wasn't with the group. Everyone's eyes shot to the ceiling as gunshots started to rain over us. "Oh my fucking god," I almost shouted, turning on my heel to go back to the roof taking two steps at a time.

I dashed up to the roof and slammed the door open. "Merle!" I yelled. "What are you doing?"

"Just clearin' out some walkers, don't worry yerr pretty little head," he yelled back over his shoulder taking aim once again.

"Merle! Stop! Please!" I begged, trying to pull him off the ledge of the building. I knew this was a bad idea. I had known before we had left camp. I should have just talked him out of going. I should have forced him to stay. Tricked him somehow. Led him away from everyone while they were leaving.

"Dixon!" someone's voice shouted. "Are you crazy!"

Merle started laughing, and I continued to try and pull him down off the ledge. "You ought to be more polite to a man with a gun!" he laughed, jumping down next to me.

"You're wasting bullets we ain't even got, man!" T-dog yelled at him.

"It's bad enough I got this taco-bender on my ass all day, and now I gotta take orders from you? I don't think so 'bro'. That'll be the day," he said, glaring at T-dog.

"Merle, stop," I begged him, pulling on his arm. "Don't do this."

"That'll be the day?" T-dog asked, his face filled with shock. "You got something you want to tell me?"

"T-dog, just leave it," I pleaded. "Just ignore him."

"No!"

"It isn't worth it!" Morales added. "Now Merle, just relax, okay? Listen to Larae. Just calm down."

"You wanna know the day?" Merle asked T-dog completely ignoring us. "I'll tell ya the day is the day when I take orders from a nigger!"

My jaw about hit the floor. I knew Merle to throw around some derogatory words, but I never expected him to do it in a situation like this. T-dog threw a punch at Merle with a stream of curse words. Merle moved me out of the way and threw a punch back at the same time. Once I was behind him, he took the butt of his gun and hit T-dog across the face.

"Merle!" I shouted over everyone, as he punched the mysterious cop. He kicked T-dog in the stomach as he tried to come back at Merle. I rushed over to Merle as he bashed T-dogs face into a metal pipe. I yanked him back as best as I could and he pulled away from me with ease and continued to kick T-dog in the ribs. He was all of a sudden on top of him punching. I stood back in horror and watched as Merle continued to mercilessly beat T-dog. My hands covered my mouth as he pulled a gun out of his belt and aimed it at T-dogs face.

"Merle, please," I begged, quietly. "Please stop. Please."

His eyes lifted to me, and I could tell something clicked in his mind. He spit on T-dog and stood up. "Alright. We're going to have ourselves a little...pow-wow. We're gonna talk about who's in charge." T-dog scrambled away from him as soon as he stood up. "I vote me! Anybody else?" he looked around and his eyes fell back on me. "Show of hands! Come on! Raise your hands if you vote me!" Everyone started to slowly raise their hands, but I couldn't bring myself to move. "Anybody else?"

"Yeah," said the cop. Merle turned to face him, and was met with a blow to the face with the butt of a gun. He pinned him to the ground and hand cuffed him to a metal rod. "Look here, Merle," he said, lifting him up to face him. "Things are different now. There are no 'niggers'," he spat out the word. "Anymore. No dumb as shit white trash fools either. Only dark meat, and white. That's us, and the dead."

"Screw you," Merle said, staring him down, a snide look on his face. They continued to quietly exchange words as I watched Merle waiting for any signs that he was about to grab the mysterious man. I almost jumped out of my skin when he pressed a gun to Merles temple. He dropped the gun after a few more words and started to search his pockets. If I wasn't so scared I would have laughed when he pulled a crack pipe out of his pocket and threw it over the edge.

Merle started to curse up a storm, and kick at the cop. As he walked off, I moved next to Merle and kneeled down next to him. He glared up at me. "So you'll protect the nigger, but the second I get shit thrown in my face, ya don't even make a move?" he spat. "Fuckin' bitch."

"What did you expect me to do, Merle?" I asked. "I'm not exactly much of a threat. And you were out of hand. Call me a bitch again and I'll kick you in the nuts so hard, they'll replace your eyeballs," I said, glaring at him. Daryl was the only one who could call me a bitch and get away with it.

"Out of fuckin' hand my ass," he spat again.

I shook my head and stood up. "I like you better when you're sober," I said and walked over to T-dog to help him clean his face up. I ignored Merle as T-dog glared at him. I knew Merle was glaring back at us, but I wasn't going to give him the time of day until he realized he was being out of hand. That's how you had to handle the Dixons. You had to put them in time out until they realized they were wrong and came crying back to you. Like small children.

I inwardly rolled my eyes. Yes. That's exactly how they acted. Small, vulgar, undisciplined children.

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><p>Sort of a filler chapter. Sorry. Had to do the chapter to get to the next part.<p>

Kind of disappointed in the lack of response I got on the last chapter. But that you to those who did respond! Any kind of response keeps me motivated, and keeps me turning out chapters faster. I'd like to get at least five reviews on this chapter. Or it can be about the whole story.

What do you like? What don't you like? What would you like to see happen between Larae and certain characters? What do you like about Larae? Dislike? I'm open to any ideas. Please please please. Think of it as a Christmas present. =)

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, any Happy all Holidays!


	9. Left Behind

I stared over the ledge down to the street below next to Jacqui and Andrea. Although the walkers had spread out a little, it was still extremely crowded. It was still enough that we could smell them from the top of the building.

"How's that signal?" Morales asked T-dog.

"Like Dixon's brain," he said, eyeing Merle. "Weak."

Merle glared back at him and flipped him off.

"Keep trying," Morales urged.

"Why?" Andrea asked. "There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing." She pushed away from the ledge of the building away from the cop.

He looked at Morales, confused. "Got some people out side the city," he explained. "There's no refugee center."

"Then she's right," he agreed. "We're on our own. We have to get our own way out."

"Good luck with that," Merle sneered. "These streets ain't safe. Ain't that right, sugar tits?" he asked, turning to Andrea. I rolled my eyes and put my attention back to trying to figure out how to get out of here.

"The streets aren't safe is an understatement," Morales said, shaking his head.

"What about under the streets? The sewers?"

Morales stared at the cop for a moment. "Glenn! Check the alley! Are there any manhole covers?"

Glenn jogged over to the other side of the building and looked up and down the alley and jogged back. "No," he said, shaking his head. "They must all be out on the streets where the geeks are."

"Maybe not," Jacqui said quickly. "This building was built in the twenties. Big buildings were built with tunnels underneath incase of flooding."

"How do you know?" Glenn asked.

"It's my job. Well, was my job. I worked in the city's zone office," she explained.

"I guess we better go look," I said, taking my guns safety off.

0000

"No," Glenn argued for the upteenth time. "Until now, I always came here by myself. In and out. Easy. The first time I bring people, everything goes to hell. If I'm going down in that hole, I'll take one person with me," he looked at the cop. "Not you. You have a gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if you were up there watching those doors," he turned his attention to Andrea and I. "You two are the only others with guns. You two go with him."

I shook my head. "No. No way. We came out here to get supplies and I'll be damned if we go back without. The building we needed to get to is the next one over, right?" Glenn nodded. "I can get over there with all the bags, grab what I can, and get out." He looked like he was about to protest, but I cut him off. "Look, I have a gun. I can protect myself. The roofs are close enough together that if I get a running start, I can jump it if I have to. I can take the alley to the door on the other building. If it's locked, I'll come back. But I won't go back to camp without being able to say we tried. We aren't going to want to come back for a while because it'll be too dangerous. We can't go any longer without the supplies."

"Alright," he sighed. "But make it fast."

I nodded as I ran back up the stairs to get to the roof. As I gathered all the bags, I ignored the stares from T-dog and Merle and made my way over to the ladder.

"Where are you going?" T-dog called after me.

"This is a supply run. We need supplies. So I'm going to go and try to get us some." I maneuvered all the bags on my back and started to make my way down the ladder before I could hear any protests. I kept my eye on the two walkers in the alley as I dropped the last few steps. I was careful to not draw their attention as I moved to the door. I twisted the handle and mentally cheered when I found it opened. I dodged inside

and pulled it closed behind me.

It was quiet. I figured that would calm my nerves, but it just made me more nervous. It kept my senses on high. Every creek and every movement of anything made me jump. I knew that if there was something in here, since it was so quiet, not only I would be able to hear it, but it would be able to hear me.

I was in what looked like a miniature Wal-Mart. The shelves had been raided quickly and cans of various things and spilled items laid across the floor. I gathered all that I could into three of the bags as I moved through the aisles, listening for movement other than my own. Each time the cans knocked together, I flinched and strained my ears to hear any movement besides myself.

I really wish I had brought someone with me.

I gathered what we needed as fast as I could but still trying to be silent. Tylenol/Ibprofen, any kind of medical supplies, canned foods, soap, pads/tampons. I stood in one of the aisles in the pharmacy area looking over the shelf thinking about what else I could grab while I was here. I was about to head back, when I heard the familiar sound of a walker close to where I was. I froze and listened.

It was in the aisle over, groaning and shuffling along slowly. And its destination was coming towards the aisle I was in. It hadn't realized I was here yet. It was simply shuffling around with no purpose. I listened for its footsteps, trying to figure out which way it was going. I swallowed my fear and slowly started to move away from it, paying even more attention to not making a noise. Yet before I could move away from it, it turned the corner and spotted me.

"Shit," I breathed. I turned and ran for the door, adjusting the now full bags on my shoulders. They had to be a good twenty or more pounds from all the canned food I had gathered. I yelped as I turned the corner to almost slam into another one. It growled and tried to grab for me, but I dodged around it, and darted for the door. I threw it open and it made an extremely loud bang against the wall, attracting the attention of the few in the alley.

I knew climbing the ladder would be hard with an extra twenty pounds, but I had no other choice. We needed this to be able to survive. This stuff would keep us from having to do another run soon. Hopefully. I hoped it was enough. There wasn't much that four bags could carry. But it was more than Glenn and his single bag and I had crammed as much as I could into the bags. I heard the growling behind me as I struggled to get far enough up the stairs that the walkers couldn't reach me. The bags were weighing me down.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself as one grabbed at my foot. I glanced down at it, and kicked it as hard as I could in the side of the head. It staggered back and I took the opportunity to scramble up ladder. I was breathing heavily as I got to the top.

"Hey!" I called over the edge. "A little help would be nice!"

I heard feet scrambling over. I looked up to see T-dog and Morales faces. I hoisted up the bags to them one at a time, locking my other arm around the ladder so I wouldn't fall from being off balance.

"You carried this all up the ladder?" Morales asked, amazed while also pulling me up.

"Yeah. There was no was I was going to be able to make two trips," I said, glancing down at the walkers at the bottom of the stairs. "Was there a way out in the tunnels?"

"No," Morales paled a little and looked like he was about to puke. "The cop had an idea to...chop up a walker, spread the mess on them and walk there. He had this idea that if we can smell like them, we can sneak passed them. He and Glenn went. They're going to that construction zone to get a cube van for us to get out."

"I bet that was gnarly," I said pursing my lips and trying to keep a mental image from forming. "Is it working?" I asked as we made our way back over to Jacqui, Andrea and Merle.

"Seems like it," he said, handing me the binoculars and pointing to them in the crowd of walkers.

"That asshole's out on the street with the handcuff keys?" Merle growled.

I handed the binoculars back to Morales and saw T-dog hold up the handcuff key to Merle. I shook my head and went to sit next to Merle. I couldn't watch them walk through those streets if they got caught. My nerves couldn't take much more stress.

"You calmed down?" I asked Merle quietly. He looked at me with a snide look. "I take that as a yes." He didn't say anything so I kept talking. "I know you've always been an asshole to Daryl through the years. And sometimes to me too. Even when you weren't on drugs. But this is out of hand Merle. The dead rising and eating all the living is not the time to get addicted to crack again."

He scoffed and looked away from me. "But even with how you're acting, Daryl loves you. Even after all the shit you and your father put him through as a kid. So I guess that means I have to kind of love you."

"You always go along with what Daryl does," he said, giving me a small glare. "Always did everything he did."

"Well it got me here, didn't it? It kept me alive. All the survival things he taught me came in handy. And I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for him. And maybe you should be too," I said eyeing him. "Instead of acting like a total douche bag and turning everyone against you, causing them to think the same thing about him. He doesn't deserve that."

"Whatever, Rae."

I was about to say something when thunder rolled over us. The clouds were beginning to darken and the sky looked like it was about to pour. A bad feeling started to creep in my stomach as I watched the two slowly make their way through the street. T-dog was starting to flip through the channels until he found a signal.

"Hello? Hello?" Dales voice came back.

"We're trapped in the department store. The geeks are all over the place! Hundreds of them!

"T-dog, rep-" Static interrupted Dales voice. And then there was nothing.

"Fuck," he cursed and tried to flip through the channels again.

Thunder rolled again, and the clouds were getting darker. Moisture filled the air as I felt a raindrop. Then three. Then it was pouring. In a matter of moments, we were all soaking wet. I jumped up and rushed over to the ledge of the building to watch the two on the street. They had gained some distance, but not enough. They couldn't move quickly through the streets because the walkers would notice them. They were having to move just as slowly as them.

"It's a pacific cloud burst, we get them all the time." Morales said, nervously looking down at the two. "It'll pass real quick."

"But is real quick fast enough?" I asked.

No one said anything. It's exactly what everyone else was thinking. If it wasn't for the fact that we had two men down on the street trying to get us out and save us, I would have been thankful for the rain. It felt amazing after being out in the sun for hours. But now, it was just a deadly burden.

"They're being chased!" Jacqui said frantically with her hands pushing her hair back from her face.

I grabbed the binoculars and watched them jump the fence like it was nothing. The cop stood a few feet away and shot the ones that were trying to climb over. Glenn disappeared from sight for a moment. I saw Glenn again when he threw something towards the cop and they ran towards the cube van and got in. They backed up the van, and drove away.

"They're leaving us!" Andrea said quietly.

"What's going on?" Merle asked, loudly.

"The rollup doors in the back of the store, meet us there and be ready!" Glenns voice came over the CB. Everyone grabbed a bag and ran towards the door as fast as they could. I didn't budge from my spot, my eyes on Merle. Everything in my body was telling me to run. To save myself. But I couldn't leave Merle.

"T-dog!" I screamed atfter him. "Unlock the handcuffs!"

T-dog stopped, and looked back at me, Merle and then back at me. "Go!" he told me as the ran back over the roof. "I'll get him, just get the bag and go!"

I looked towards Merle and nodded. I grabbed the bag next to me and dashed down the stairs, not too far behind the others. Inside the department store, walkers were still trying to break through the second door of glass. They were riled up and there were even more than before. They were banging on the glass, trying with everything they could to get through the glass to us. We rushed through to get to the back entrance where there was a chain to pull open the rollup door. Each of us grabbed a hold of it breathing hard and still soaking wet.

"How are we supposed to know when they're here?" I asked. My nerves were shot. I was shaking, my voice was shaking, every little noise made me jump. It would be a long time before I calmed back down. And even longer before I ever volunteered to do another supply run.

The sound of a car alarm started to slowly get closer. There was a loud bang at the door and we pulled the chain as fast as we could to open the door. The cop was in the back of the van, and we threw him the bags and jumped inside.

"Don't leave me!" T-dogs voice called as he ran into the garage. He threw his bags inside and jumped in.

"Where's Merle?" I asked frantically when he got in the truck. The cop sped away from the building and Morales closed the door to the back of the truck. "Where's Merle?" I asked again, grabbing T-dog by the shirt. "Where is he?"

"I dropped the key," he said, his eyes not meeting mine.

I stared up at him dumbfounded. "You couldn't pick it up?"

"I dropped it down a drain."

I pushed away from him and stood away from everyone, my hands found themselves tangled in my still soaking hair. I stared at T-dog with my lips pursed and tears prickling my eyes. "You left him on the roof," I said slowly.

"I chained the door," he told me. "With a pad lock. The geek's can't get to him."

"Oh yeah? And what the fuck am I supposed to tell Daryl? Hm? Any bright fucking ideas? Cause I sure as hell don't know!" I yelled at him, the tears still in my eyes. Daryl asked me to look after his brother. He trusted me to do it. And now he was still handcuffed to the top of a building as we drove back to safety. And the only thing protecting Merle was a metal door, a chain and a pad lock. But that just protected him from the Walkers. He was still out in the sun, with no water and no food.

"Larae, I'm sorry," he said still not looking at me.

I slid my back down the back of the van and rested my head in my hands. No one said anything the rest of the way back.

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><p>Apologies to those who have already read chapter eight and having to go back and read this. I totally uploaded the wrong chapter and didn't catch it until the morning after I published it. I am so sorry haha. I'll go ahead and upload the next one in a few days because now that some have read it, I'm gong to tweak it a little. Sorry. My mistake.<p> 


	10. Reuniting

**For those who have read this chapter before I fixed the mistake: **This chapter has hardly changed. I decided after re-reading it repeatedly, I liked the way it was. I went through and added a few details in certain parts, but the only real difference is the end.

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><p>Once we got back to camp, I stayed in the van for a moment to gather myself before I had to rush through the group to get to my tent. Andrea was the first to jump out of it, and I could hear her calling for Amy. T-dog, Morales and Jacqui followed. I took a deep breath once the man got out of the car and followed after him my eyes not leaving the ground.<p>

I almost ran into him whenever he stopped. I looked around him to see Carl and Lori look up and the look of pure shock cross their faces. Almost as if he was a ghost.

"Oh my god," he said under his breath. He started to move towards them and slowly picked up into a run.

"Dad!" Carl yelled, running towards him tears filling his eyes. "Dad!"

Carl slammed into the man an full force and the man hugged him as tightly as he could sobbing into his shoulder. I could hear Rick choke back a sob as he hugged him back just as tightly, and reach out for Lori as she followed after her son. I stared at them in disbelief as they held onto each other as if any of them were about to disappear.

The man that we had saved from the tank was Lori's missing husband.

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><p>That night we sat at the fire. I wanted to just stay in my tent, but it was too cold even in my sleeping bag. Now more than ever, I wanted nothing to do with anyone. I would have figured that spending almost two weeks alone in the woods fighting for my life would make me appreciate human contact a little more. But after what had happened, I just wanted to be alone. But the cold was a lot less inviting than being alone.<p>

I sat in between Glenn and the man I now knew as Rick. We had finished eating our nightly beans and were simply just talking about how he got there.

"Disoriented," he said. "That's the best way to explain it. Fear, but mostly disoriented."

"Words can be meager things," Dale said.

"I felt like I had been ripped out of my life. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream."

"Mom said you died," Carl said up to his dad.

"She had every reason to believe that," he assured his son. "Don't ever think different."

"When things started to get really bad, they told us at the hospital that they were going to medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta. And it never happened," Lori said quietly.

"I'm not surprised. Not after Atlanta failed," he said, his eyes on the fire. "That hospital looked like it got

overrun."

"Look's don't deceive," Shane spoke for the first time that night. He had been acting weird since Rick arrived. Normally he strutted around camp, head held high like he owned the place. But after he greeted Rick with a hug, and a few words, I didn't hear him say a damn thing. "I barely got them out."

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane," Rick said, making sure to make eye contact with him.

"There goes those words falling short again," Dale smiled.

The sound of moving logs drew everyone's attention to where Ed, Carol and Sofia were at. Ed moved a large log into his fire.

"Hey, Ed?" Shane called over to him. "Wanna rethink that log?"

"It's cold," Ed brushed him off.

"Cold don't change the rules, does it? Keep our fire's low so we can't be seen from a distance."

"I said it's cold. Mind your own business for once."

Shane stood up and walked over to their fire. He was over there for a few minutes and had a quiet exchange with him, when I saw Carol get up and pull the log out of the fire.

"So Larae," Glenn said, changing the subject. "Now that we have you pulled away from Daryl's hip," he said bumping my shoulder and smiling. "What was your life like before all this? And how did you get in the woods? None of us know anything about you."

I chewed on the inside of my cheek for a moment while I debated about answering his question. "I guess this was going to come up eventually," I said, smiling into the fire.

"As all of you besides out new member here know, Daryl and I were best friends as kids. He and Merle grew up down the street from me just forty miles to the other side of Atlanta. Daryl's four years older than me, but anytime we weren't in school we were..'attached at the hip'," I said, smiling at Glenn. "My mom..." I stopped for a moment, and closed my eyes thinking back to the last time I saw her. "Died. When I was twelve." They didn't need to know the details. "I lived with my dad after that. I graduated highschool when I was seventeen because my mom thought it was a big deal to get me into school as early as possible." Shane had joined us back at the fire and was listening to me talk. "When I was about to turn eighteen, some shit happened. Things just kind of fell apart for me. So I gathered my stuff and moved to California for three years."

I wasn't going to give them a chance to ask questions about what happened, so I continued. "My dad started to get sick while I was in California. I got a call from him one day after I got off of work at the coffee shop I worked at. He told me about how he was sick and having to miss a bunch of work because the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong and his body just couldn't handle it. So I packed my stuff again and came back home. I was home for about a month when all the shit went down. My dad was in the hospital again and they all but threw me out of the hospital without me being able to say goodbye to my dad. They told me to go to Atlanta because they would medevac him." I smiled at Lori. She knew what that was like.

"So I high tailed it home packed my bag full of clothes and water and got in my car and headed to Atlanta. Just ten miles out of the city, the cars came to a complete standstill for hours. I had finally fallen asleep in my car when screaming woke me up. Walkers had come out of the city and were attacking. I barely got out of there. I had to dodge away from walkers, move around half eaten bodies. I ran into the woods, and I don't know how long I had run, but it was dawn before I stopped. So I had gotten myself lost."

I leaned back on my hands and stared into the fire as I continued to talk. "I was convinced I was alone. I didn't see a single person who wasn't being eaten when I ran into these woods. I was convinced I was the only person alive in this world anymore."

"You thought you were the only one alive?" Andrea asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Atleast. Alive in the way of I wasn't trying to eat people. I'm not sure how long I was in the woods until I got attacked and you all found me. But my inner clock told me it was about two weeks."

"I don't get it," Andrea continued. "You thought you were the only one alive? And you kept trying to go on?"

"Sure did," I said.

"Why?" she asked blatantly. "If I thought I was the only one alive anymore, I couldn't go on. I would just have to end it." Almost everyone made some sort of agreement.

I thought about that for a moment. Why hadn't I ended it? Because I had hope that maybe Daryl was still alive. Because there was no way I could live and he couldn't. I wouldn't tell them that though. "I guess I just never really saw it as an option," I said, smiling a little. "Surviving was my only option. Giving up never really crossed my mind."

Everything was silent again for a moment as everyone got lost in their own thoughts of the ways things used to be. After talking about my dad, it all hit me at once. I really did miss him. I had no idea if he was alive or not. I didn't know if he managed to somehow get out of the hospital. And even if he had, I was almost sure he wouldn't have been able to make it home. Not if it was as bad there as it was on the highway. Not if we were the only people left.

"Has anyone given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale finally asked breaking the silence. I kept my eyes trained on the fire. "He's not going to be happy to know that his brother got left behind."

"I'll tell him," T-dog said. I could feel his eyes on me. "I dropped the key."

"I cuffed him. I should," Rick disagreed.

"Guys, it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy. Or Larae."

I lifted my eyes to the group to see them all eyeing me. "It doesn't matter who tells him. Wether they be black, white, or me. Just because I tell him doesn't mean he's not going to unleash his rage on you all. I'm not sure even I'm going to not be targeted. He asked me to take care of him and to make sure he stayed out of trouble. And I couldn't."

"We could lie," Amy suggested. I snorted at that.

"And if you try that, I'll tell him the truth. Then I know I'll be okay because at least I wouldn't have lied about his brother being eaten by walkers," I said, glaring at the blonde.

"Larae, it wasn't your fault he got left behind," Rick assured me. "Just for being with you all for a few hours, I saw that you were the only one fighting for him. I wasn't sure why, and I don't know what your relationship is with this Daryl or Merle, but from what I'm picking up, he'll care about you enough that he'll understand that there was nothing you could do."

I felt everyone turn to look at me judging my reaction. Thankfully, the flames were bright enough to cover the blush that crept into my cheeks. Rick, a complete stranger thought Daryl, whom he had never met, thought we were more than just friends. And I knew everyone at the camp thought we were, or were trying to figure it out. I pursed my lips and stared down at my hands. "We still have to tell him the truth."

"She's right. We tell the truth," Andrea said. "Merle was out of control. He was going to get us killed. Your husband did what was necessary," she continued looking towards Lori. "If Merle got left behind, it's no ones fault but his own."

"Yeah? And you go right on ahead and tell Daryl that," I said, shaking my head. "There's not going to be any peacekeeping with that situation."

"We're going to have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt," Dale murmured.

I stood from the fire and made my way to my tent. I couldn't handle that conversation anymore. Those people were just ridiculous. They were actually trying to figure out what to tell Daryl in a way that wouldn't piss him off. Were they fucking thick? No matter how you put it, phrase it, say it, pronounce it, Daryl was going to be livid.

I huffed as I laid down in my sleeping bag and pulled it up to my chin. I didn't want to deal with these people anymore. I wanted Daryl to come back. And I wanted Merle to not be on that roof. As I laid in my sleeping bag, I listened as the groups voices became fewer and fewer until there was only one person's who was keeping watch that night.

It was quiet. Normally the sounds of crickets and the rustling of leaves from the wind would be the sounds I fell asleep to. But there wasn't even that. The wind was still and cold. The slight downpour from earlier had caused it to cool down enough to where it would be just passed the point of comfortably cool, to just annoyingly cold. It was cold enough that you could wear a jacket and layer your shirts and be fine, but to sleep in it in a tent was hard to do.

I rolled to my side and pulled my knees up as guilt started to eat away at me. Merle was out there. Exposed. Alone. Cold. Hungry. Thirsty. No matter how much of a jackass he was, he shouldn't be out there like that. And it was my fault.

Thunder rolled across the woods, and faint sounds of raindrops landing on the roof of my tent started to lull me to sleep.

I just hoped that Daryl had a place out of the rain. And that Merle would be okay.

* * *

><p>I dragged myself out of my tent the next morning to help Carol with the laundry. She was a sweet, quiet soft spoken woman. Nothing like her husband. We spent all morning down at the quarry scrubbing at the clothes getting them as clean as we could, talking small talk and a few things about our lives before. Once we were finished down at the quarry we made our way back to camp to dry the clothes. I grabbed my basket and went to hang them on the clothes line when Rick immured from his tent.<p>

"Morning," I greeted as he stretched in the sun.

"Morning," he greeted back with a small smile. I continued passed him to the clothes line. He probably felt like he was treading on eggshells with me because of last night. But in all honesty, I didn't know who I was mad at. He was the one that handcuffed him, but Merle was out of control. Everyone else had run instead of helping him, but they were scared. I was too. T-dog dropped the key, but he had tried to unlock him and he had chained and locked the door. I knew I should have stayed and helped him, but I was scared. I sighed to myself as I clipped the clothes to the line.

It was quiet when a scream echoed through camp. I immediately dropped the article of clothing I was holding, picked up a pick axe next to me and ran off towards the scream with everyone else. Carl, Sophia and Jacqui met us half way and I followed Rick, Shane, Jim, Glenn and a few others to the sounds of chomping just beyond the trees. A walker was kneeled next to a deer eating away at it's neck. But that's not what my eyes fell on. My eyes locked right onto the brightly colored plastic feathers of two arrows from a crossbow. My attention went back to the walker as it reached into the deer and pulled out an organ that resembled a heart. A wave of nausea hit me and I swallowed the taste of bile away.

It finally began to realize we were there and stood to face us. It was a male walker wearing a dirty, torn and bloody business suit. It growled at us, and Rick was the first to hit it in the head. The others followed his lead, but I was afraid that if I got too close, I would puke. Dale finally decapitated it with the axe he had.

"That's the first one we've had up here," he said, all of us breathing hard. "They never come this far up the mountain."

"They're running out of food in the city," Jim said, grimacing at the mutilated walker.

Rustling in the trees snapped everyone's attention back to the woods. I gripped my pick axe and listened as the rustling got closer. Daryl finally broke through the trees by a large pile of rocks. I sighed in relief and dropped my pick axe.

"Son o' a bitch," he cursed, marching over to the deer. "That's my deer! Look at it all gnawed on by this filthy piece of diseased bastard," he said emphasizing his words by kicking the body.

"Calm down, that's not helping," Dale sighed.

"What do ya know 'bout it old man?" he snapped, approaching Dale. I moved towards him and grabbed his arm to pull him back. He didn't pull away from me. "Why don't ya take that stupid hat and go back to hon golden pond," he spat at Dale. He moved away from him, and his attention fell to me. "Good to see ya in one piece," he murmured to me and pulled his arrows out of the deer. "I've been tracking this deer for miles," he scoffed. "What do ya think? Think we could cut 'round this gnawed part?"

"I wouldn't eat it," I said quietly.

"That's a damn shame," he said eyeing the deer. "I got us some squirrel, 'bout a dozen or so," he continued turning to us and adjusting the twine on his shoulder.

I heard snapping at my feet and looked down to see the walkers head snapping at my shoes. I yelped and jumped back, my stomach jumping into my throat with me.

"Come on people, whut the hell?" Daryl shot the walker in the eye and pulling his arrow out. "It's gotta be th' brain. Don't ya'll know nothin'?" he moved passed us and started walking to camp and started calling for Merle.

The groups eyes fell on me. Shaking my head, I quickly followed after him. "Daryl!" I called after him, but he was already in camp, still calling for Merle.

"Daryl. Wait," I said, catching up to him and grabbing him by the elbow.

"Whut?" he asked, turning to face me. All the eyes in camp were on us.

"There..there was a..." I took a deep breath. "There was a problem in Atlanta. Merle isn't here."

It was hard to read his face. It was mixture of realization, confusion, and rage. "He dead?" he asked me.

T-dog walked into the camp, his arms full of firewood. My eyes fell on him. "I...I don't know."

Daryl's eyes followed mine to T-dog. I could tell his mind was turning, running over different situations in his mind. He looked back at me again, then to the group behind me. I could see the rage in his eyes, even if he looked calm from the exterior. All hell was about to break lose.

* * *

><p>This is one massive chapter. My biggest chapter I have ever written. Sorry if it just kind of rambles on. But there was needed information.<p>

Reviews are appreciated! What do you like? What don't you like? What would you like to see? The usual stuff. =)

Thank you for the wonderful feedback!


	11. Outburst

"It either he is or he ain't," Daryl said loud enough for the group behind me to hear him. I looked over my shoulder. Shane, Rick, Glenn and Morales were behind me.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," Rick said walking forward.

"Who're you?" he asked, glaring at Rick and gently pushing me behind him. I knew this wasn't a good thing. He was moving me out of the way because him attacking right was an option in his mind and he didn't want me to get in the way

"Rick Grimes," he said, making sure to make eye contact with him.

"Rick Grimes?" Daryl mimicked with anger. "Ya got something ya wanna tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all," he said, his fists clenching. "So I handcuffed him to a roof hooked to a piece of metal. He's still there."

"Hold on," he said turning away for a second and rubbing the sweat out of his eyes. "Let me process this. Ya sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof?" he said harshly. "And you left him there?" His voiced raised in volume to the point where he was shouting. I had my eyes trained on Daryl, waiting for any sudden movements. He moved out of my grabbing range, but I was almost afraid to get closer to him. He wasn't yelling at me yet, but that didn't mean that all this rage was also aimed at me.

"Yeah," Rick said calmly.

Daryl glared at Rick for a moment. I could see the rage in his eyes build even more and in the way he was standing. He threw the twine of squirrels at Rick with all the force he could. I jumped as Shane reacted and tackled him to the ground. All the men jumped forward to try and break up the fight.

"Daryl!" I exclaimed when he pulled his hunting knife out of its holder. "Don't be stupid!"

"Watch the knife!" Shane told Rick. Daryl lunged at Rick aiming for his throat, but Rick reacted and grabbed his wrist and painfully twisted the knife out of his hand. I grabbed the knife before Daryl could break free and get a hold of it again. Shane came up behind him and grabbed him in a choke hold and brought him to the ground. Daryl was struggling with all of his power against Shane. I had to give Shane props because I knew how strong Daryl was.

"Best let me go!" Daryl shouted.

"Nah, don't think I will," Shane grunted, struggling against him to keep a hold of him.

I clenched my jaw as they continued to struggle. Rick finally kneeled down in front of him and said something quietly to him. Shane finally let him go, and I rushed to Daryl's side, kneeling next to him while putting the knife in my back belt loop and out of his sight.

"What I did was not on a whim," Rick said, and I wrapped my arm around Daryl's, squeezing it comfortingly. "Your brother does not work, or play well with others."

"It's not Ricks fault," T-dog interjected. "I had the key. I dropped it."

Daryls attention snapped to him, and I squeezed his arm again. "Ya couldn't pick it up?" Daryl spat.

"Well I dropped it down a drain."

Daryl made a noise that I wasn't accustomed to hearing. It sounded like a choked back sob. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. Any other time he would have yanked away from me for doing that in front of other people. But now he didn't fight it. He sat there for a moment and went to stand up, pulling me up with him. He started off towards his tent, glaring at T-dog. "If that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Maybe this will," T-dog said quickly. "I chained the door to the roof so the geek's couldn't get at him. With a padlock."

"It's got to count for something," Rick pressed when Daryl didn't say anything.

I pursed my lips when I saw tears in Daryl's eyes. He rubbed at his eyes. "To hell with all o' ya'll," he spat. "Jus tell me where he is so I can go get 'im."

"He'll show you," Lori said from the RV. She was staring directly at Rick.

Rick nodded. "I'm going back," he added.

Daryl stormed off to his tent, and I followed at his heels but stopped. Maybe I shouldn't. He probably needed time to calm down.

"Go make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," Rick said, seemingly reading my mind. I smiled at him a little and nodded. I followed Daryl to his tent.

Once in his tent, his had his hands knotted in his hair breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry," I finally said, my fingers locking in front of me. "I'm so sorry. I tried."

I could hear him turn towards me. I expected him to yell and curse at me. To kick me out of his tent and to never speak to me. I fully expected it, and I knew I deserved it. But instead I felt his arms encircle my shoulders and pull me to him. He buried his face into my hair and I felt his tears wet my hair. I wrapped my arms around his middle.

"I tried," I said into his neck, tears pricking at my eyes."But he was shooting walkers from the rooftop. He got us trapped. Rick did it because he was going to get us all killed. I made T-dog turn around and unlock him. T-dog told me to go, and I was scared so I did. I ran to where they were going to get out. Rick and Glenn stole us a cube van to get us out. I ran. I should have stayed with him. Helped get him out. But I was scared, Daryl. I'm sorry." My voice hitched as I tried to blink away my tears. Daryl pulled away from me and sat on his sleeping bag.

"No. I'm glad ya got outta there."

I stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"If it had been the both of ya up there I woulda killed this entire camp," he said, his eyes locking with mine. "I knew ya wouldn't of left Merle behind purposely. They did. Ya didn't."

"But you told me to watch him. I was supposed to make sure he came back with us."

"But I also told ya to watch yer own back and come back alive."

I chewed on my lip for a moment and studied his face. "Let me go back with you to get him."

"No way in hell," he said shaking his head.

"But-"

"No. Ya ain't comin'," he said firmly and gabbed his crossbow and arrows.

"Daryl-"

He cut me off by leaving the tent quickly. I wasn't going to drop this.

"Daryl, just stop and listen to me," I said, following after him.

"No listenin' need to be done on my part," he said, walking up to camp. I knew he was going to the main group because he thought I would drop it. But he was wrong. I knew I should drop it. But I felt like I needed to go.

"Daryl, I'm going," I said once he stopped by the fire in the camp. I crossed my arms and stood firmly. I knew we were drawing attention to us. But maybe that's how I would convince him to let me go.

"No, yer not."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"Sorry. Still going."

"Over my dead body."

"I guess I get to kill you then."

He glared at me. I knew this was making him uncomfortable to have so much attention on him. But I felt like I needed to go. And I was going to do everything I could for him to see it my way. "No," he growled.

"But-"

"No buts. Ya ain't comin' dammit," he snapped at me. "I didn't want ya to go before and I shoulda gone with my gut. Ya almost got killed. I ain't riskin' ya again. So yer gonna sit yer ass right here 'n camp with everyone else where I know yer gonna be okay. Arguin' about it ain't gonna change my mind. So drop it," he was glaring at me.

I pursed my lips and I could suddenly feel every stare on us. Daryl was standing firm across from me, never wavering. I shifted where I was standing to look around. Everyone went back to what they were doing quickly, pretending like that hadn't heard anything. I looked back to Daryl who moved to sit next to the fire with his arrows in hand. I didn't say anything and went to my tent.

* * *

><p>The sound of arguing pulled me out of the tent. Shane and Rick were facing each other. Shane was pleading with Rick, and Rick was trying to rationalize what he was about to do.<p>

"Why risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?" Shane asked Rick frantically as I walked up to camp from my tent. In the matter of a few feet I was already breaking out in a sweat. It had grown hotter the hour I was in my tent.

"Hey," Daryl said glaring at him. He was next to the fire, cleaning his arrows. "Choose yer words more carefully."

"No, douche bag is what I meant," Shane said simply, brushing Daryl off.

"So you and Daryl?" Lori asked. "That's your big plan?"

Rick sighed and looked towards Glenn questioningly.

"Awe, come on," Glenn groaned.

"You know the way," Rick explained. "In and out, no problems, you said it yourself. It's not fair of me to ask, but it would make me feel better. And her."

"That's just great, so you're going to risk three men," Shane sneered.

"Four," T-dog corrected, with his fists and jaw clenched.

"My day jus get's better an' better, don't it?" Daryl scoffed.

"Do you see anyone else here stepping up?" He glared at Daryl whom Daryl didn't pay any attention to.

"Why you?" Daryl asked his attention still on his arrows.

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language." I caught T-dogs eyes as he looked away from Daryl. I mouthed a thank you to him and he nodded at me.

"You're putting every single one of us at risk," Shane said, trying to reason with Rick. "Come on, you saw that walker it was here, it was in camp. If more show up, we need all the able bodies we got. "

"It seems to me what you really need here are more guns," Rick said, not backing down from Shane who was moving in on him.

"Right," Glenn said thinking. "More guns."

"What guns?" Shane said, trying to hold his interested tone back.

"Six shot guns, two high powered rifles, over a dozen hand guns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag when I got swarmed."

"Ammo?"

"Over seven hundred rounds assorted."

"You went through hell find us," Lori argued. "And now you're just going to turn around and leave?" That confused me. Wasn't she the one who volunteered him in the first place? "To hell with the guns. Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives! Even with the guns thrown in!"

I walked over to Daryl who was cleaning his arrows, and sat next to him. He barely glanced at me as he angrily scrubbed at his arrows. It was a crock full of shit that they were talking about his brother like that infront of him. And it was even beginning to piss me off.

Whether or not they liked Merle was their own business. I couldn't blame them if they didn't like him. But they didn't have to be so heartless about it right in Darlys face. Daryl glared down at his arrows as he scrubbed at them vigorously with a red rag that he always had with him. I rested my hand on his forearm and he sighed irritably and glared at the rest of the group.

* * *

><p>I had followed Daryl to his tent once again when he got fed up with the camp. I wasn't sure what I was going to say or do, but if he was about to go to Atlanta, I atleast wanted to say goodbye and good luck. He was looking for something.<p>

"Th' hell is my knife?" he muttered.

I sighed and he jumped a little. He hadn't heard me follow him apparently. I pulled the knife out of my back belt loop and handed it to him. He slowly took it from me, studying my face.

"I'm not here to argue with you again. I won't go if you don't want me to. I just wanted to wish you luck."

"I don't need it," he grumbled. "I'll be fine."

"I know. It's just to make me feel better." He didn't say anything and I hugged him and he hugged be back. In these last few days, I had hugged Daryl more often than I ever had. Not that I hadn't hugged him a lot when I still had lived in Georgia, but it wasn't this often. "Come back alive," I said.

"I promise."

* * *

><p>Half an hour had passed when Rick finally got Glenn and T-dog together and ready to go. Daryl left me by the fire to help Glenn maneuver the truck. He was staring at Rick and T-dog bargain with Dale and Jim. He finally got irritated and started honking the horn. "Come on! Let's go!" He yelled at them.<p>

He made eye contact with me and nodded towards me. I smiled back at him slightly. We had already said our goodbyes. Rick and T-dog made their way to the van and climbed inside, T-dog in the back and Rick in the passengers seat. Daryl cast me one last glance and shut the door. I watched with my lips pursed as the van drove off.

"Hey," Lori said coming up next to me. "Want to help me look for firewood?" She asked, giving me a knowing and understanding smile. She was feeling the same thing I was right now. I nodded with a slight smile and checked for my knife in my waist band. I followed Lori into the woods, and gave one last glance over to where the cube van was sitting just a few minutes before. I felt a feeling of dread build up in my stomach, but I ignored it. He'd be okay. Hopefully.

* * *

><p>What did you all think of Daryl's little outburst? Let me know what you think!<p>

Thankyou for all the feedback! It keeps me inspired! :)

I hope all of you have a Happy New Year, my wonderful readers.


	12. When It Comes To Death

Lori didn't probe me about Daryl like I was expecting her to. It was a nice change from everyone probing when they got the chance. We kept idle chat as we searched the woods for dry wood which was a feat because of last nights rain. We just simply kept each other company.

"I'm worried," she said after we were in the woods for about half an hour.

"Me too," I said, smiling at her when she looked at me. "But they'll be okay."

"You really believe that?" she asked her voice hopeful.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I really do." She smiled at me and I returned it and used my upper arm to push the hair and sweat off of my face. "I think this is good for now," I said, motioning with my head to the bundle of wood we had in our arms.

She nodded in agreement and we made our way back to camp. I knew Lori just needed someone to express her worry to. But I did too. I wasn't sure where Daryl and I stood together, but I still cared for him in the way she cared for Rick. No one else really understood that.

Camp was quiet for once when we got back. The camp was too busy doing their own little tasks to argue and fight. It was a nice change from the last few days.

"Hey Dale, have you seen Carl?" Lori asked as we walked over to the cover for the firewood.

"He's down at the quarry with Shane. There was some pretty bold talk about catching frogs," Dale said smiling from the top of his RV. Lori quickly dropped off the wood and started to walk down to the water. I dropped off my arm load of wood and walked back to the RV.

"Want some company?" I called up to him.

"If you'd like to join me," he answered with a smile. I turned to walk to the ladder when movement caught my eye. I shaded my eyes and looked up to the cliff that was above our camp. Someone was up there.

"Hey, Dale? Who's that up there?" I asked, pointing.

He followed my pointing and brought the binoculars up to his eyes. "It's Jim," he said. He looked down at me. "Keep watch for me?"

"Sure," I said climbing to the top of the RV. Dale handed me a rifle and the binoculars. He climbed down the RV and started off towards Jim. I sat in the lawn chair under the umbrella. This was quite a vantage point. From one way, I could see every tent, every fire pit, every can line we had. And then from the other side, I could see every part of the quarry from shore to shore and the trail leading to camp. But I could also see every person in camp and if I wanted to, I could listen in on almost any conversation.

So how often did Dale listen in? I pursed my lips at that.

* * *

><p>Amy and Andrea were practically strutting when they walked back to camp. They had two chains filled with fish that they had caught down at the quarry. Everyone gathered around them as they were practically glowing with pride.<p>

There would finally be something else other than beans and squirrel. I turned my attention back to the cliff where Dale was coming back. With no Jim. Dale cast me a look as he walked passed the RV. Something was wrong.

"I don't mean to alarm anybody," Dale said, gaining the groups attention. "I think we have a problem." He looked up to the cliff where Jim was and all eyes settled on Jim still digging at the top of the cliff.

* * *

><p>Apparently, anyone's business had to be on display at the camp. Instead of only a few people going back to the cliff to fetch Jim, Shane made all of us go. "In case he got out of hand". Carl and Sofia followed us as well, which seemed absolutely ridiculous to me.<p>

"Jim, what're you doing out here?" Shane asked.

Jim ceased his digging and rested his hand on his hip and looked us all over. "What do you want?" he asked defensively.

"We're just a little concerned is all," Shane continued.

"Dale says you been out here for hours," Morales said infront of me.

"So?" he asked genuinely confused.

"What are you digging for? I mean, are you digging to China or something?" Shane joked with a smile, trying to ease the tension.

"Doesn't matter, I'm not hurting anyone," he answered continuing to dig again.

"Yeah, except yourself. Jim, it's a hundred degrees out here," Dale said trying to talk some sense into the man. "You'll stroke if you keep this up!"

"No I won't. Watch me!" he said, still digging.

"Well, since they aren't going to say it I will," Lori said stepping forward. "You're scaring people. You're scaring my son and Carols daughter."

"No ones got anything to be scared of. I mean what the hell people, I'm out here all alone not bothering anyone, so why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone," he said glaring at us.

"We think that you need to take a break," Shane tried again. "Why don't you come back to camp, get some food and some water and rest. And after a while I'll even come back and help you, but I've got to know what it's for. Just give me the shovel."

"Or what?" he asked snidely.

"There is no or what. I'm asking you to please give me the shovel."

"And if I don't are you going to beat my face in like Eds?" My eyes shot to Shane. He beat Ed's face in? When the hell did this happen? Is that why I hadn't seen Ed around today? "You all seen his face right? Or what's left of it? Is that what happens when someone crosses you?"

"That's a different situation, Jim," Shane said eerily calm.

"You weren't there!" Amy defended him. "Ed was out of control! He was hurting his wife!"

"That's their marriage! He is not judge and jury."

"Jim, I'm not here to argue with you, just give me the shovel," Shane said again, grabbing for the shovel in Jim's hand. Jim stepped back and swung it at Shane, who caught his arm. Everything happened so fast, that in the blink of my eye Shane had Jim pinned down to the ground. "Calm down Jim, no ones going to hurt you," Shane said, yanking the shovel out of his grip.

"That's a lie if I ever heard one," Jim laughed quietly. "That's what I told my wife and two boys. I told it to them a thousand times, but it didn't matter. They came out of no where. Dozens of them. Pulled them right out of my hands," Jim closed his eyes and a sad smile appeared on his face. "The only reason I got away is because the dead was too busy eating my family."

I stared down at Jim with my jaw slack in shock. That's the most we had ever heard about him and his previous life. That's why he was alone out here with us. Shane pulled him to his feet while still keeping his hands held behind him. He led Jim passed us, and I watched as the thin man walked passed me, his head down and eyes unseeing. I lingered behind as the camp followed Shane.

I moved over to one of the holes that Jim had dug. There were over a dozen of them. All about six feet long, three foot wide and a few feet deep. They reminded me of graves.

"Larae, are you coming?" Dale asked behind me.

"Yeah," I said, turning my body to walk towards him. My eyes lingered on the holes a little longer before I fully faced Dale to follow him down the trail to camp.

* * *

><p>"That was a brilliant idea, Larae," Morales said, smiling at me.<p>

"Not my idea. Daryl used to do it all the time when he was hunting," I said placing the last rock around the fire pit. We had been debating for the last hour about how we could make the fire bigger but still keeping it low enough that we couldn't be seen. I had then remembered that Daryl used to make me go and help him find rocks when he dragged me camping so we could make the fire bigger. "I just can't believe I hadn't thought of it before."

Jim was suddenly standing next to me. He must have finally calmed down enough to where Shane untied him from the tree. "Feeling better?" I asked him as Morales went over to his family to share his excitement.

"Yeah," he said quietly. He glanced at me through the corners of his eyes. "You worried about Daryl?"

I looked at him oddly. Where the hell did that come from? "Why do you ask?"

"It's written all over your face when you talk about him."

I looked him over for a moment debating about how I should answer that question. I hadn't ever really spoken to Jim much. He seemed like a nice guy, but he was quiet. Reserved. "Yeah," I answered finally.

"You shouldn't be," he said fully facing me.

"Why?" I blinked.

"That mans a survivor if I've ever seen one," he said his eyes never wavering. "He's gonna give everything he can to come back to you. He cares about you. I can see it, just by the way he talks to you."

I blushed. "The way he talks to me? His nick name for me is 'fuckin' bitch'," I tried to brush off.

"Even then. He's gentle with you. He's going to come back. But when he does, never let go of him," he said, his eyes still locked onto mine. "Because then he might not be so lucky."

I stared at him, my brows furrowed. "Are you feeling okay?"

He only shook his head and walked away from me. I blinked at the spot he was just standing in. What the hell just happened?

* * *

><p>I used to hate fish and everything about them. I hated the way they smelled, felt in the water, felt when you caught them, looked, tasted. Just everything about them. But now, I don't think I would ever feel the same way again.<p>

Anything was better than squirrel. The fish fry was relaxing. All of us being able to eat until we were full without worrying about it really helped ease all of our minds for just a few hours. We could relax. We all sat around one fire for the first time since it was now big enough to keep us comfortably warm while we all sat together.

"I have to ask Dale," Morales said, smiling at him from across the fire. "The watch."

"What's wrong with my watch?" Dale asked, smiling at the band on his wrist.

"I see you everyday winding that thing. Like a village priest at mass," he said still with a smile on his face.

"I've been wondering that myself," Jacqui said next to me.

"What's wrong with that?" Dale laughed.

"Unless I'm missing the signs here, the world seems to have come to an end," Jacqui explained.

"But there's you. Everyday. Winding that stupid watch," Morales continued.

"Time. It's important to keep track, right? The days atleast," he looked at each of us, the smile still on his face. "I like what the father said to his son when he gave him a watch that had been passed down for generations. 'I give you the mausoleum, of all hope and desire. Which will fit your needs, no better than it did mine. I give it to you, not so that you remember time. But so that you may forget it. If only for a moment. And not spend all of your life trying to conquer it."

"You are so weird," Amy said, a small smile coming to her face.

"Not me! Faulkner. William Faulkner. Excuse my paraphrasing," he said, laughing with the rest of us.

Amy took a sip from her cup and stood from her chair.

"Where are you going?" Andrea asked her.

"I have to pee," she said, rolling her eyes. "Try and have some privacy around here, jeeze."

It was silent around the fire. But not an awkward silence. It was peaceful. I sat back in my chair, and let out a small sigh. I wished Daryl and Merle were here to enjoy it with me. It didn't seem fair that we were having such a peaceful moment without a part of our group.

"Are we out of toilet paper?" Amy called from the RV. Then she screamed. All of us jumped up and stared in horror as a walker grabbed a hold of Amy's arm and sink it's teeth into her. Before any of us could react, more than a dozen walkers appeared from around the RV and trees. I jumped up out of my chair and reached for my gun in my belt loop.

I snapped the safety off as a walker set its eyes on me. It growled and lunged at me, its hands held out to grab me. I fired my gun and it dropped to the ground dead. Shane was suddenly next to me, his shot gun in hand and started firing away at the walkers.

"Move back to the RV!" he yelled towards me over his gun. I nodded that I heard him, and started to move back, my gun still trained on the walkers.

Screams encircled us. It was almost like the highway all over again. The dead attacking, and feeding. The living running, and screaming to only be chased down and eaten. I kept firing as I moved back to the RV.

"Larae, watch out!" someone screamed.

I felt a hand grab me, and my heart stopped as I heard the rattling of a walkers teeth behind me. I yanked away from it and tripped over something. I stumbled to the ground and before I could get up, the walker was on top of me. I grabbed it by it's throat and pushed it's head away, screaming for someone to shoot it. My arms started to buckle under the strength of the male walker fighting against me. It's face was only inches from mine, to where I could smell the rancid, decaying smell from its mouth. It was snapping at my face, and I turned my head away from it as it got closer. I couldn't tell if I was still screaming or not.

I could only feel myself fighting against it. I was trying everything I could to kick it off of me, to push it away. But it was only getting closer.

And then it went limp. I stared up at the walker in shock when I saw an arrow with brightly colored plastic arrows coming out of it's head. All of a sudden it was yanked off me and Daryl pulled me up into a sitting position, his hands holding me by my upper arms.

"Are ya bit? Are ya scratched?" he asked frantically looking over every part of me. I could only stare at him in shock. "Rae! Answer me! Are ya okay?"

I started to cry. Or I had just realized I was crying. I wasn't sure. I reached out to Daryl and hugged him around the chest as tightly as I could, sobbing into his shirt. My fists clenched at the back of his shirt when he hugged me back just as tightly and let me cry into his chest. His heart was slamming into his rib cage at a hundred miles an hour and his breathing was labored. I could smell the sweat, dirt and blood on his skin. But I still held on to him as tightly as I could.

"Amy! No! Amy! Amy!" Andrea's broken voice yelled. I pulled my face out of Daryls shirt to look where her voice was coming from. Bodies were everywhere. Walkers and the freshly killed. It smelled of death, gun powder and smole. People were crying and holding on to each other or screaming over dead bodies. Andrea was leaning over Amy's bloodied body. It all hit me at once. Amy was dead. More than half our camp was dead. I had been very close to being in the same position they were.

And it would never happen again.

* * *

><p>Daryl comes to save the day! Or something like that.<p>

Thank you for all of your wonderful feedback! It keeps me super motivated, and makes my day better when I get new emails on my phone from this story! It makes me want to go home and start writing.

Leave me a review and let me know what you think!


	13. Morals

"I don't understand how you're expecting me to sleep," I said as Daryl pulled me into his tent. "Not after tonight. Not after what happened."

"Ya need sleep," he said, tugging me further inside.

"I need to go help. You do too."

"Ya need to sleep. Ya look terrible."

"Thanks. I appreciate that. Really. Because you know, I just about got my face eaten off," I glared at him.

He rolled his eyes and pointed at his sleeping bag. "Sleep."

"Why can't I got to my own tent?"

"Cause mines closer to camp. So I can keep an eye on ya."He turned away from me before I could answer.

"Daryl, wait," I stopped him before he could walk out of the tent. He looked at me over his shoulder. "I..I don't want to be alone," I pursed my lips. "I'm scared."

He stood back to his full height from the door and sighed, his hand rubbing his forehead. "Alright," he said finally. "Lemme go tell 'em." He was only gone for a few moments and when he came back to the tent, he pulled his boots off and sat down on the other side of the tent, his crossbow next to him. "Now sleep."

"You need sleep too," I said, crossing my arms still standing over him.

"'m fine."

"No. You look exhausted. You _ran _here from Atlanta. I'm not sleeping until you do."

"I'll sleep right here."

"No. Come over here and share the sleeping bag with me. We can share. I don't have cooties," I looked him over and took note of the fact he was covered in dirt and grime. "But you might."

"Will it make ya shut up an' go to sleep?" he grumbled.

"Yes."

He shook his head and moved over to the sleeping bag. He unzipped it completely so it was more of a blanket than a sleeping bag, and unfolded the blankets underneath it that he was using for cushioning so both of us could fit on it. He motioned for me to lay down. I did so, and he laid down on his back, his arms behind his head. I laid on my side facing him.

"What happened to Merle?" I asked quietly. Merle hadn't come back with them. I knew something had happened. But I hadn't had the chance to ask.

He turned his head to look at me, a drawn look on his face. "He cut off his hand to get outta the handcuffs. He was gone before we got there."

"..I'm sorry." I lowered my eyes away from his face. The guilt built up inside of me again.

"Quit apologizin'. It ain't yer fault. Merle thought he was on his own. I woulda done the same thing. Now go to sleep before I knock ya out."

I watched him as he turned his head back to stare at the top of the tent. As I watched him get lost in thought I felt my eyelids get heavier and heavier. "I'm still sorry," I muttered. He snorted and I closed my eyes.

* * *

><p>I woke up to the sound of voices outside the tent. I stirred awake slowly. I was curled up against something warm. When I opened my eyes, I saw that it was still dark outside. It had only been a few hours of restless sleep, and yet I felt a hundred times better. The warmth that I was enveloped in sighed.<p>

Glancing up, I saw that it was coming from Daryl. Somehow in our sleep we managed to tangle together. I was resting my head on Daryls chest, who had his arm wrapped around my shoulders holding me closer to him. My arms were wrapped around his middle and one of my legs was over one of his, but my foot was tucked under his knee. I laid there for moment, relishing in the warmth wrapped around me.

I tilted my head and moved a little so my nose nuzzled under his chin. His deep breathing was interrupted by a sigh and I felt him stretch. His body relaxed again, and his breathing went back to its deep rhythm. I waited a few moments to move again so I didn't wake him and I slowly sat up on my hip as gently as I could. I leaned on one arm as I stared down at him. He was so peaceful when he slept.

His brow wasn't drawn into a scowl, his face was relaxed. His jaw was slack so his mouth was open just a fraction. I felt a smile plucking at the corners of my mouth as I reached out to his face and brushed his hair back. He opened his eyes as my fingers brushed along his jaw. I recoiled my hand as he stared up at me sleepily.

"Whut're ya doin'?" he asked, blinking the sleep away.

"Trying to wake you up," I lied. "We need to go help."

He sat up with a grunt and looked over my face. "Ya okay?"

"Yeah. Sleep helped. But we need to go help." He glanced over me again, and nodded. He stood and helped me to my feet. He pulled on his shoes and started to leave the tent but paused and glanced at me over his shoulder to make sure I was following him.

The camp was left the way it was when Daryl dragged me into the tent to go to sleep. Bodies were everywhere except now more had crushed in heads or holes in their foreheads. Andrea was still leaned over Amys body by the RV. The fire had died out and was now only burning embers and ashes. Everyone who hadn't gone to try and get some sort of sleep looked weary and tired.

I wordlessly picked up a pick axe and joined the daunting task of making sure the dead didn't rise again.

* * *

><p>Once dawn came, we started a fire. It had been decided that we would burn the walkers but burry our dead in the holes that Jim had dug. It seemed eery to me that Jim dug the holes the day of the attack. It was almost as if he knew.<p>

We split the group in half. Some would burn the walkers or line them up to be taken to the cliff, and the other half would continue to make sure they didn't wake back up. I helped burn them. The sickening crunch of putting a pick axe in the dead's skulls was starting to make me nauseous.

We were almost done with the walkers when the subject of Amy came up.

"She's been there all night," Lori said quietly as I sat down on the car seat couch for a minute to rest. The heat from the mid day sun was bearing down on us full force and with the added factors of the humidity from the rain from the day before and the heat of the fire wasn't making it any better.

"We can't just leave Amy like that," Shane said, his eyes trained on the two blondes. "We need to deal with it."

"It seems wrong though," I said. "We can't just... Take Amy from her. We have to let her try and deal with it."

No one answered me. Rick rubbed the back of his neck and turned towards the two sisters. "I'll tell her how it is."

Daryl came up beside me, and leaned on the pick axe. He was breathing hard and sweat was pouring down his face. He opened his mouth to say something to me, but stopped short his hand gripping the axe tighter. I followed his eyes to see Andrea pointing her gun point blank at Rick. Rick slowly backed up, his eyes never leaving the gun. Andrea dropped her aim and turned back to Amy as if nothing happened.

Rick walked back to us shakily running his fingers through his hair.

"Ya'll can't be serious," Daryl growled. "We can't let her do that. The dead girls a time bomb!"

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked, a hard stare on his face.

"Take the shot," Daryl spat.

"Daryl," I warned quietly. He brushed me off

"Clean! In the brain! From here! Hell, I can hit a damn turkey in between the eyes from this distance."

"No," Lori said, sitting back down next to me. "Just leave her be."

Daryl shook his head and stormed off away from us. I sighed and followed him quickly. He dropped his pick axe to the ground and started to help Morales move the body of one of the campers that I recognized. They were moving him towards the fire.

"What are you doing?" I asked frantically which drew Glenns attention to us. "Stop!"

"Getting rid of the infection," Daryl answered.

"Our people go over there!" Glenn said, stopping the two men.

"Whut's it matter," Daryl spat, dropping the body.

"Our people go over there," Glenn said firmly. "We don't burn them!" he yelled at Daryl. "We burry them."

Daryl scoffed and picked the body up again, Morales on the other side. He started to drag the body to the other row of bodies. "You reap what you sow," he growled.

I rubbed my forehead next to Glenn who lowered his eyes. This was not the time for Daryl to start throwing a fit. "Ya'll left my brother for dead! Ya had this comin'!"

Daryl snatched up the pick axe and stormed off towards the body of a walker. I patted Glenn on the shoulder. "It's good you stood up to him," I smiled slightly. "Glad to know I'm not the only one who will."

He nodded to me and pushed another body into the fire. I started to help him with the next one when Jacqui's voice broke out over camp.

"Jim got bit! A walker got Jim!"

All attention was suddenly on Jim. Everyone dropped what they were doing and encircled the man. "Show it to us!" Daryl demanded, his fist white on the pick axe over his shoulder.

Jim grabbed a shovel quickly and swung at part of the circle. T-dog took the opportunity to grab him from behind causing him to drop the shovel.

"I'm okay," he said sadly, not fighting against T-dog. Daryl rushed forward and yanked his shirt up to reveal teeth marks on his ribs. The wounds were black and peeling yellow with pus and blood. The area around it was already swollen and inflamed a purple-red color. I felt my stomach churn as Daryl moved away from the man to my side. I grabbed his arm lightly staring at Jim who just kept repeating himself. "I'm okay," he begged hopelessly. "I'm okay. I'm okay."

"Jim, just come sit down," Shane said stepping forward and taking the mans arm. He led Jim to an upside down crate and sat him down. "Just take it easy, okay?" Jim didn't move as Shane walked back to us. He just simply cradled his head in his hands and stared down at the dirt.

"What do we do?" I asked quietly, so Jim couldn't hear.

"I say we put a pick axe in his head," Daryl answered. "And the dead girls an' be done with it," he added.

"Is that what you would want?" Shane asked harshly with a glare.

"Yeah. An' I'd thank ya while ya did it." I rubbed the sweat out of my eyes and glanced up at Daryl who glanced back down to me. Is that really what he would want if he got bit? For someone to kill him before he even died?

"I hate to say it, but maybe Daryls right," Dale said, looking from face to face.

"Jims not a monster," Rick said quietly. "He's a sick, sick man," he barked. "If we go down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The lines pretty clear," Daryl said loudly. I tried to shush him. "Zero tolerance for walkers. Or them to be."

"What if we can get him help?" Rick suggested quickly. "I heard the CDC was working on a cure."

"I heard that too along with a lot of things," Shane said, his hands on his hips.

"What if its still up and running?" Rick pressed. "If there's any government left, or any military, they'd protect the CDC at all costs. Shelter. Protection."

"Now I want all of those things too, Rick, I get that. But if there's any of those things, they're at the army base. Fort Benning."

"That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction," Lori argued.

"But if we do go there," I jumped in. "My old home before it got over run is about half way in between here and Fort Benning. My dad was huge on surviving on his own with generators. We could stop there, refuel if it hasn't been raided. Rest for a little while. If it hasn't been raided, there's more than enough gas to fuel all of these vehicles to full." I looked to Daryl who gave a slight nod in agreement.

"See, now we even got a rest point," Shane added.

"But the CDC is our best option!"

Daryl picked up the pick axe at his feet. "I'll tell ya whut ya need to do," he turned on his heel and ran at Jim fully prepared to swing the axe. "Someone needs to have the balls to take care 'a this."

In the blink of an eye, Rick had his gun locked onto the back of Daryls head. "We don't kill the living," he said clearly.

Daryl dropped the axe to his side and turned to Rick, a glare full force on his face. "That's funny. Comin' from a man who jus' put a gun to my head."

Shane grabbed the axe from Daryl's hands. Daryl glared at the two men as he walked away from them. I followed at his heels to play babysitter once again.

* * *

><p>Just in time for Normans birthday!<p>

Little bit of mush in the beginning of the chapter. I figured since it's already chapter 12 it's about time for some mush. More to come, I promise.

Thank you all for everyones wonderful feedback! Keeps me super motivated :)


	14. Bury The Dead

We spent the majority of the day burning the walkers bodies. Apparently there had been a lot more than I had noticed. I let out a sigh once Glenn and I had moved the last walkers body to the fire. Glenn patted me on the shoulder and walked away from the fire quickly. I glanced around the camp to find Daryl. I spotted him watching Carol as she walked away from him sniffling. I watched her walk away as I approached him.

"What was that about?" I asked, turning my eyes to him.

He glanced down at the body at my feet. I followed his eyes. It was Ed's body with his head halfway cracked open. "She did that," he grunted.

I grimaced and inched away from the body as Daryl rested the pick axe on his shoulder. "Are ya sure yer okay with goin' back home?"

"If we even go," I shrugged. "I don't mind. We'll need a place to stop and rest. Might as well do it in a spot that at least two of us are familiar with."

"Jus' don't go and get yer hopes up," he said quietly. "With yer dad, I mean."

I started to answer when the sound of a gunshot caused me to jump and spin around. My eyes fell on Andrea dropping her gun to her side and Amy's body falling back to the ground. I reached behind me slowly and clasped onto Daryl's hand which squeezed mine reassuringly. I looked up at him but his eyes were still trained on the sisters.

What if it had been Daryl who had been bit? I wasn't sure I would have been able to do what Andrea did, even if it's what he wanted. He let go of my hand and started to move the bodies to be wrapped up in various fabrics we had. I gave the Andrea one last glance as I joined him.

* * *

><p>"Still think it's a mistake, not burnin' these bodies," Daryl said as he lowered the tailgate of his truck. "Ain't that whut we said we'd do?"<p>

"At first," Shane grunted digging into one of the holes.

"So the chinaman get's all emotional an' says it's not the thing t' do, we jus' follow him along?" Daryl spit towards the ground. "These people need to know who th' hells in charge here."

"There are no rules," Rick said, brushing him off.

"That's a problem," Lori added. "We haven't had one minute to hold on to anything we used to be. We need time to mourn. And we need to bury our dead."

Daryl scoffed as he started to pull one of the bodies out of his truck. Shane and Rick stepped forward to help. One by one the bodies were placed into the make shift graves and buried. It seemed to take longer than burning the walkers just because as we buried each body, I thought back to all the interactions I had with each person. It made it a lot more tedious. A lot more tiering. And a lot more emotionally draining.

Amy's body was the last body to be buried. Andrea insisted on doing it. Refusing help from anyone, she pulled her sisters body out of the bed of the truck and tugged it over to the last grave. I stood next to Daryl, my arm wrapped around his back and his arm around my shoulders. We all watched in silence as Andrea lowered Amy's body into the grave, Dale standing close by.

After lowering her sister down into the grave, Dale helped her out of it. Once she was on her feet she picked up a shovel and started piling the dirt on top of Amy. Slowly the grave began to fill. And once the grave was finally filled, Andrea began to cry.

"Come on," Daryl said quietly to me and pulling me away. We started walking back towards camp, with a few others following us. I kept my eyes trained on my feet as Daryl led me back to camp.

"I don't know if I could ever do what Andrea did if it were you," I said after we were far enough away from the others that we weren't in ear shot. "I don't know how she did it."

"I ain't ever gonna be in that situation," he muttered his hand twitching tighter on my shoulder.

"You're so sure," I said, lifting my eyes to him. "But what if it did? What if one snuck up on you like that one did to me?"

He pulled me to a stop and off to the side of the freshly beaten trail for the others to pass and waited until he was sure that no one was listening. "It was stupid to leave ya here alone. I shoulda taken ya with me instead of leaving ya here where I knew they'd let their guard down. It ain't gonna happen again. Quit questionin' it. I ain't gonna let it happen."

I stared up at him quietly. He had his hands rested on my shoulders and his eyes were bearing into mine with fierce sincerity. I felt my mouth open and close like a fish trying to find words to say. What was I supposed to say? Daryl turned his head to the sound of voices headed towards us, and started to pull me back along the trail without another word.

* * *

><p>"I've been thinking about Ricks plan," Shane said, coming up next to me and kneeling down. We were gathered around the fire in silence and Andrea was asleep in one of the chairs. The camp was almost completely silent, with everyone in their own thoughts. "There are no guarantees. But I say the most important thing is that we need to stay together," he continued making eye contact with all of us, sweat dripping from his face. "So for those of you who agree. We leave first thing in the morning. To the CDC."<p>

I glanced over my shoulder at Daryl who was looking at Shane while chewing the inside of his lip in thought. He glanced over to me and disappeared towards the tent. I excused myself from the group and followed after him. When I entered the tent, he was picking up a shirt from the floor of the tent and tossing it over to his bag at the side of the tent.

"Whut?" he asked, glancing at me.

"Are we going with them?" I asked.

* * *

><p><strong>Daryl<strong>

"Are we going with them?" she asked, her arms crossing in front of her.

He stood to his full height and met her eyes while chewing his lip in thought. We? "I was plannin' on it.

But ya can go back home if ya want."

She looked at him oddly. "Why would I go somewhere without you?"

"Jus' didn't know if ya had her head set on goin' back." So she was grouping them together. Not that he minded. He just wasn't expecting her to make the decision as to if she would go with the other survivors or not.

"No," she said shaking her head and pieces of hair falling out of the loose knot she had her hair tied in at the base of her neck. "I know that my dad probably isn't there. I'm sure enough that he isn't that I'm not willing to risk my life for it. And I'm not going anywhere without you."

He tried to fight back the small smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. But her eyes flickered towards his mouth and then back up to his eyes with a smile on her own face. She used to say that she knew every expression he had. Even the ones he tried to hide, because she said that no matter how hard he tried not to smile, the corners of his mouth would lift ever so slightly.

"You really thought I'd just leave?" she asked, stepping forward, her hand finding its way to the outside of his wrist.

He didn't answer her, as he stared down at her, her own pale green eyes staring right back into is. She was one of the few that was able to hold eye contact with him for more than a few seconds without turning their attention out of nervousness. She, Merle and now Rick Grimes were the only three.

She lowered her hands from his wrist to his fingers slowly as if she was unsure if she should attempt to try. He lifted his hand to the back of her neck and found her face slowly coming closer to his own. She closed her eyes, and he felt her lift up to her toes to help close in the distance. He ducked his head to meet her lips.

It was almost as soon as they were kissing that someone approached the tent. She pulled away quickly and stepped a few steps back, a blush covering her face. Whoever was outside the tent, kept walking passed, probably on their way to their own tent to gather their things.

She cleared her throat, the blush still deep on her pale cheeks. "I should uh. Probably go and get my things ready." She left the tent, with one last glance back to him.

* * *

><p><strong>Larae<strong>

I quickly made my way to my tent, keeping my face down so should I happen to pass someone they wouldn't see the blush that I felt on my face. It all had happened so fast, that it had barely registered to me that I was kissing Daryl when I heard foot steps approaching the tent. And then like an idiot, I ran out of the tent.

I entered my tent and with a sigh, hid my face in my hands. I could not have reacted any worse in that situation. I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled it out of the knot that was falling out. Shaking my head, silently cursing myself, I started to gather the small items that I had laying about my tent and shoving them into my bag.

"Hey, Larae?" Lori's voice called from outside my tent. I poked my head out at her. "You think you could help us gather some things up in camp so we don't have to do it in the morning?"

"Sure," I said stepping out of my tent fulling and zipping it closed to keep out the bugs. As I stood back up, Daryl stepped out of his tent, and locked eyes with me. I pursed my lips and felt my ears heat up and followed Lori at her heels.

* * *

><p>"Where's my tent?" I exclaimed, upon seeing the spot that my tent was at was now empty, causing everyone to stare at me. After helping Lori pack the camp up, it had been time for everyone to eat. Dinner had consisted of beans and whatever other canned vegetable we had left. And it was quiet. No one said anything and just sat in silence staring down at their plates, or off into the woods, scared of another invasion. Shane never left the top of the RV. After I had finished eating, I just wanted to go to sleep. But now my tent wasn't there.<p>

"I think Daryl broke it down for you," Glenn said, a few feet away. I glared towards Daryl's tent where I knew he was. I marched over to it, and threw open the flap of the door. He was laying on the pallet of blankets and sleeping bags that he had made for us the night before.

"Where's my tent?" I asked, glaring at him.

"I broke it down so I didn't have to do it in the mornin'," he answered simply, his hands behind his head. I glanced around the tent quickly, and saw my bag sitting next to his.

"And where am I supposed to sleep?"

"In here," he said, as if I had missed something obvious.

I stared at him in disbelief. He just decided that I would sleep in here? "And what if I don't want to?"

"I guess ya could sleep in my truck," he said rolling his eyes. "Don't matter none to me."

I stood there in the middle of the tent for a moment, glaring at him and debating what to do. I seriously thought about sleeping in his truck, just to spite him, but I knew it wasn't going to be very comfortable, so I would barely get any sleep. And I was tired. Grumbling under my breath, I kicked my shoes off, and laid down on the opposite side of the pallet, on my side. He didn't say anything as he leaned over and turned off the oil lamp illuminating the tent.

We laid there in silence, as I glared at the vinyl wall. I wasn't sure how long I had been laying there, when Daryl tugged on my arm to try to get me to roll over. Moving to my back, I turned my head to glare at him in the dark. His hand rested on my check and pulled my face to his as his lips pressed against mine. He didn't try to take it any further as I moved to my side fully to get closer to him. He ran his fingers through my hair, as I pushed my body closer to his and laid my own hand on his jaw. He pulled away from me and rested his forehead against mine.

"Still mad?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," I lied.

"Get some sleep," he answered.

I nodded, and kissed him again quickly. Before he could react, I rolled to my other side and pressed my back into his chest and pulled his arm around me. He sighed against my neck without a word. A few moments after, I was asleep.

* * *

><p>Sorry about the delay! I had this chapter completely written, but my computer decided it wanted to eat it, including the back up I had for it. It really pissed me off, so I was having a hard time rewritting it because I would just get irritated and stop. But I finally sat down and pushed through it.<p>

Finally, after 13 chapters, we finally have some fluff. I hope I met everyones fluffy expectations :)

Let me know what you think!


	15. On Borrowed Time

"For those of you with CB's we'll be on channel forty," Shane said, after gathering us around. We all had awoken early to pack up the tents and the rest of camp into the various vehicles we had. "But let's keep the chatter down. If you have a problem and don't have a CB or can't get a signal, honk your horn once, and we'll pull over," he glanced over all of us. "Any questions?"

"We're not going," Morales said quietly.

"We have family in Birmingham," his wife continued when no one said anything. "We want to be with our

people."

"If you're on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane said, trying to rationalize with the family. Everyone else was going to the CDC. It was an easy choice for everyone. Stay with the numbers. I knew they probably wouldn't make it to Birmingham by themselves. I had never seen Mary shoot a gun, and both kids were under the age of eleven.

"We'll take the chance," he said, his eyes never wavering. "I've got to do what's best for my family."

I glanced up to Daryl who shook his head. He was thinking what I was. There's safety in numbers. Branching off from the possibly the last living group of people was not a smart idea.

"Are you sure?" Rick asked, his brow drawn.

"We talked about it," Morales said with a nod. "We're sure."

"Alright," he said quietly and leaned down to the duffle bag full of guns at his feet. He pulled out a hand gun and a box of bullets. "Box is half full," he said, handing him the two items.

Daryl scoffed, and I elbowed him in the ribs with a sharp glare. He rolled his eyes and stared off into the woods, a scowl written across his face.

"Thank you all," Morales said, with a nod. I stepped away from Daryl's side, to pull the two kids into a hug who were crying quietly. I hugged Mary and turned to Morales.

"Be safe out there," I said.

"You too," he smiled. I hugged him quickly, and stood back next to Daryl who was watching the scene before him, chewing on his thumb nail.

"Come on," Shane said, walking towards his jeep. "Let's move out!"

Daryl and I walked to his truck where we had everything packed away in the bed. I pulled open the door and it gave a slight groan in protest. Daryl sat in the drivers seat and I moved to the middle of the bench next to him. That used to always be my spot when he got his license. Anytime we went anywhere, I always sat in the middle next to him. He started the truck and moved it into gear, as the cars lined in front of us started to move.

As we turned to follow the RV, I watched as the car with Morales and his family grew smaller and smaller away from us. "What do you suppose their chances are?" I asked, turning back around.

"No better than ours, I guess," Daryl said, glancing in his rear view mirror.

"And what do you think our chances are?"

He glanced down at me, chewing on his lip and then looked back to the road. I sat back in the seat, and leaned on his side. He didn't have to say it. If the CDC wasn't running, we were probably shit out of luck.

* * *

><p>"The hell is goin' on?" Daryl grunted turning the truck off and getting out. He grabbed his crossbow from the bed of his truck and started towards the RV. The cars in front of us had come to a stop completely in the middle of the road. I grabbed my gun from the seat next to me and tucked it into the waist of my shorts as I got out of the truck and followed Daryl to the RV where steam was coming out from it's grill.<p>

"I needed that hose from the RV," Dale was explaining to Rick.

"You can't re-rig it?" he asked.

"That's all it's been, more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape."

"I see something up ahead," Shane said looking off into the distance with his binoculars. "Hopefully a gas station."

"Ya'll, it's Jim!" Jacqui said quickly, almost running into me coming out of the RV. She steadied herself on my shoulder. "It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore." She looked at me, and I could see the drawn look in her eyes. She quickly disappeared back into the RV.

"I'll head up there, see what it is," Shane said, his gun in his hands and walking to his Jeep.

"I'll go with you and back you up," T-dog said following after him.

Rick entered the RV slowly, as if he was dreading what he was about to see.

"I was wonderin' how much longer it was gonna be," Daryl said quietly to me. I nodded in agreement. Jim had been bitten over twenty four hours ago. Back at the camp I had heard that he was extremely delirious and talking nothing but non-sense. I couldn't imagine that he wasn't getting worse.

Daryl leaned against the side of the RV, crossbow still armed in his hands. We all waited in silence as we waited for Rick to come out of the RV and tell us what was going to happen. The sound of Shane's jeep grew closer as we waited. They pulled up next to the RV and met Dale with a new radiator hose. Dale set to work changing out the hose with T-dog and Shane's help. After what felt like hours, Rick finally came out of the RV with a look of sadness on his face. The camp looked towards him expectantly.

"He want's to be left here," he said quietly.

"What?" I asked surprised. He wanted to be left here? He didn't at least want to try and make it to the CDC?

"It's what he says he want's," Rick said, not meeting anyone's gaze.

"And he's lucid?" Carol asked, just as surprised as me.

"He seems to be," he said with his eyes on his hat and fiddling with the rim of it.

"Back in the camp," Dale said slowly. "When I said Daryl might be right and you shot me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with shamelessly killing a man. I was just going to suggest that we ask Jim what he wants." I felt Daryl's temper rise from behind me. I reached back and took his hand in mine and squeezed it in warning. Right now as not the time for a temper tantrum. "And I think we have our answer."

"So we just leave him here?" I questioned. "Just leave? Just like that?"

"I'm not sure I could live with that," Shane continued for me.

"It's not your call," Lori said quietly. "It's his."

I turned away from them towards Daryl who pulled me closer to him, ignoring the looks from the others. We were just going to leave him on the side of the road. "I'm going to the truck," I said quietly. "Come and get me when we're about to leave."

Daryl nodded shortly and I headed back to the truck, tears pricking at my eyes. I had never really talked to Jim. But it was still someone in our group that we were leaving behind to turn into one of those things. I yanked open the door of the truck and climbed inside. I sat leaned against the door, my head in my hands, trying to wrap my head around the fact that we were leaving Jim here.

Is that really what this world has come to? That leaving a injured, sick, and dying man on the side of the road to die was a rational option? Because that's what he wanted, in his rational mind? This just didn't make any sense to me. It was like they were treating Jim as some animal.

But it was his choice. It was his choice to be left on the side of the road to die and to turn into one of those things. Because it was his choice, they were going along with it. It wasn't humane though. Even if he did want it. We were leaving a man to die, alone and exposed. It was just like Merle all over again. Maybe this was the new world we lived in. Where death was something we had to just be okay with. Where we had to expect that everyone was going to die at any moment, at any time. Our lives were just borrowed time from the dead. Or even just people insane from fear, as we were on top of the department store.

Borrowed time. That's all life was anymore. Just borrowed time from death looming over us, waiting, for any given moment where we didn't have our guard up. Or maybe it was God. I almost laughed. After all this, my mind still went to God. Did I still believe in God after all this? The dead walking the earth, eating the living, leaving two men to die, alone, burning bodies, and burying our dead in shallow graves at the top of a quarry? I think I did. After all this mess, I knew something had to cause it. The wrath of God. That's what this was. Maybe.

As I sat there, I wasn't sure how much time had passed when Daryl opened his truck door. "They're bringin' Jim out of the RV now, if ya want to say goodbye."

I nodded silently and he helped me out of the truck. As we walked to the RV I watched as Shane and Rick had Jim under each arm and helped him up a slight hill to the tree line. They leaned him up against the tree. Jim let out a content sigh.

"Hey," he said with a light smile. "Another damn tree." He let out a breathy laugh.

"Jim, I need you to know it doesn't have to be this way," Shane said looking the man in the eye.

"No," Jim said, leaning his head back against the bark of the tree. "It's good. The breeze feels nice."

Shane stepped back slowly. All of us stepped forward to give Jim some form of goodbye. After Jacqui had walked away crying to the RV, Rick offered Jim a pistol. I could see that it's barrel was completely full. He declined it firmly and insisted that we needed it more than he did.

When Daryl and I were the only ones left standing there, I kneeled down next to him. I took his hand in mine. "I'm sorry this happen, Jim," I said, my eyes threatening to spill over. "I wish it wouldn't have."

"Don't worry about me," he said with a small smile. "I'm okay. I'm ready to be with my family." I nodded and patted his hand. I started to stand up but he kept a grip on my hand and gently pulled me back. "Remember what I said. Never let him leave your side." I nodded and slowly let go of his hand. I stepped away from him and went back to the truck, with Daryl following a few moments later.

I struggled to open the door through my tears. Daryl came to my side, and opened the door for me. After I climbed inside, he shut the door and rounded the truck to get to the drivers side. I sat in the middle leaned against him, sniffling, trying to prevent myself from crying. Daryl started the truck and put it in gear to follow the other vehicles. As we started to pull away I looked up to Jim one last time. He was leaning back against the tree, his eyes closed, and a smile on his face.

* * *

><p>"Finally," I said as we came to a stop at the curb. "We're here." Daryl turned off his truck and stepped out and pulled his crossbow out of the back. I stepped out of the truck with my gun in hand and the safety off. As I stepped out the smell of death and decay hit my nose full force. Bodies were lain everywhere. Some walkers, and some looked like people who had taken their own lives. They were soldiers and civilians.<p>

"Stay close," Daryl said coming up next to me. I nodded and followed at his side as we moved up to the others. I covered my nose and mouth to protect myself from the smell with my arm. The group started to move up the sidewalk to the doors of the dark CDC. The bodies grew denser the closer we got to the doors. Flies flew around us with other sorts of flying bugs, feeding on the dead flesh of the bodies. I grimaced away from them and moved closer to Daryl as we got to the roll-up doors.

The sky was growing darker as dusk approached. Rick and Shane tried to push open the doors, with no avail. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I glanced around quickly for any signs of walkers.

"There's no one here," T-dog said nervously.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick shot back over his shoulder. He turned back to the doors quickly, looking them over.

My eyes fell on three walkers headed right for us, grunting and groaning in hunger. I instinctively grabbed Daryl's arm tightly. He glanced down at me and followed my eyes. "Walkers!" he shouted back to the group and turned to fully face the three headed towards us. He aimed his crossbow and shot one down. "Ya led us into a graveyard!" he shouted at Rick.

"He made a call!" Dale defended.

"It was the wrong damn call!"

"Shut up," Shane growled with a shove to Daryl's chest. "Just shut up." He turned to Rick, a frantic look covering his face in fear. "Rick this is a dead end! We need a plan now!"

Rick looked panicked. I could see it in his eyes that he was trying to thing of something, _anything_, to get us either inside, or somewhere safe.

"Fort Benning, Rick, still and option."

"That's a hundred miles from here!" Lori exclaimed. "We need some place, now!"

"My Dad's house," I said quickly, watching for anymore walkers. "If we leave now, we can be there just after dark!"

"Come on, Rick, let's go!" Shane yelled, trying to pull the man away. We all turned to run, but didn't get a few feet when Rick stopped us.

"Wait! It moved! The camera! It moved!"

I yanked Daryl to a stop. He kept his crossbow pointed out towards the city incase there were anymore walkers. I fidgeted nervously, with fear creeping into the pit of my stomach. Shane was trying to get Rick to move, while the Sophia and Carl were crying with Lori and Carol trying to sooth them. I jumped at the sound of Rick banging on the door with all the force he could manage.

I turned back to the city, and it was almost if I had blinked, there was suddenly dozens of walkers headed towards us. "More walkers!" I screamed over everyone's voices. I aimed my gun, and shot two of them. "We have to go! Now!"

"Your killing us!" Rick screamed towards the camera as Shane forcefully pulled him away. "All of us! You're killing us!"

Just as Rick was turning to run, I almost dropped my gun in amazement. The doors lifted with a clatter, and light as bright as the heavens poured out on us. Without a second thought, all of us ran towards the inside of the building.

* * *

><p>Kind of a filler chapter. But we get to see how Larae's mind is taking the shock of the death around her and how she is reacting to it.<p>

Any guesses on how she's going to cope later in the series? I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts. :)

Please review! I can see you lurkers out there. Reviews make me smile, and keep me motivated!


	16. With Liquid Courage

It was empty.

Quiet and empty.

The tall ceilings and tiled walls echoed with every step we made entering into the building, guns and weapons aimed and ready to use. Daryl made sure that I was only a few feet from his side, as we swept across the room, expanding out to find any surprises that waited for us.

"Hello," a voice called. All of us spun around to face the unfamiliar voice, all weapons pointed. A middle aged man stood there, an automatic rifle pointed at us. "Any one infected?"

"One of our group was," Rick admitted. "He didn't make it."

"Why are you here, what do you want?" he asked quickly, stepping forward. He had unkept short white blonde hair with matching scruff on his face. He was dressed in a gray t-shirt and black sweat pants.

"A chance," Rick answered for us. I felt my hand squeeze my gun as he took a few more steps forward, his gun still aimed at us.

"That's asking a lot these days," he said calmly. No one answered him as he looked over all of us. "You all have to submit to a blood test. That's the price of entry," he said finally.

"We could do that."

I lowered my gun as the man lowered his. Daryl wasn't so quick about it though. He was the last to drop his weapon as the man moved forward. "If you have anything you need to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."

Daryl glanced down at me. "Stay here," he ordered, handing me the shotgun I had just noticed him carrying. He ran outside with T-dog, Shane, Rick and Glenn before I could stop him. I watched him through the glass as he ran towards the truck quickly jumping over bodies and dodging around walkers. He grabbed both bags out of the bed of his truck and ran back inside just as quickly as he had left. I grabbed a hold of his waist as he stood next to me. His breathing was labored, and his heart was beating almost out of his chest.

The lights suddenly went out. I looked around quickly and saw the man standing at the stairs. "Follow me." I held onto Daryl as we followed the man up the stairs and to a large elevator. Each of us squeezed inside, not wanting to separate. The ride was quiet, but I noticed Daryl eyeing the man and the gun he was carrying.

"Doctors always going around packing heat like that?" he asked.

"There were plenty left around. I just familiarized myself," he answered a small smirk on his face. "Though you all look harmless enough." He glanced down at Carl. "Except you. I'm going to have to keep my eye on you." Carl tried to fight back a smile as Lori ran her fingers through his hair.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. We filed out of the elevator after the doctor into a lit hallway. He started down the hallway without a glance towards us.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked from behind me.

"Are you claustrophobic?" he asked in return.

"Kind of."

"Then try not to think about it," he said with an apologetic smile. He led us into a room filled with rows of computers in a semi-circle around a large screen. "Vi, bring up the lights in the main room," he said out loud. The lights flickered on. The computers were on a lifted plat form, and lit by florescent lights from above. "Welcome to zone five," he said, walking down the pathway to the computers.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"I'm it," he said turning to face us. "I'm all that's left."

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" Lori questioned holding Carl to her side.

He smiled at her. "Vi, say hello to our guests. Say, welcome."

"Hello guests. Welcome," a computerized voice said from above.

"I'm all that's left," the doctor said. "I'm sorry."

* * *

><p>Needles didn't bother me. I used to give blood on a regular basis. But giving blood after not having a decent meal in days, my body didn't like. After giving three vials of blood to the man I now knew as Doctor Edwin Jenner, I almost puked and passed out. Lori steadied me as Daryl sat down to give blood. She sat me down in one of the chairs and I hunched over my head in my hands, fighting back the nausea that attacked my stomach. I was only the second person to give blood, Rick going before me.<p>

After a few moments, Daryl was sitting next to me. I swallowed back the taste of bile as I sat up. Andrea was sitting down in the seat now. "Why do we have to do this? If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever."

"I've already broken every rule in the book by letting you in here," he answered. "Atleast let me be through about it," he continued untying the rubber around her arm. Andrea stood, and swooned as I had. Jacqui grabbed her before she could fall.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes falling towards me and Andrea.

"They haven't properly in days. None of us have."

* * *

><p>"I never thought I'd be so happy to have booze and wine," I said after lowering the wine glass filled with some kind of red wine. I had a warm feeling in my stomach, and a good buzz going on in my head. I was getting giggly, something I apparently always did when I was getting drunk as Daryl told me. Daryl who was sitting next to me was in the same position I was. Except he just got loud when he drank. The thought of Daryl giggling sent me into a fit of my own, earning me an odd look from Daryl, which just made me laugh harder.<p>

"You know, Lori," Dale said filling her glass for the numerous time. "Children in Italy and France are allowed to have wine at the dinner table," he laughed.

"And when Carl is in Italy and France he can have some wine," she answered smiling.

"What's it going to hurt?" Rick asked, his smile wide. "Come on," he urged.

Lori stared at him, an amused expression on her face. "Fine," she laughed.

"Here you go, little man," Dale said pouring him a small glass.

Carl looked at the liquid in the glass before giving it a small sip. He made a face and shook his head in disgust. "Ew!"

"That's my boy," Lori said, laughing with the rest of us and pouring his glass into hers. "You just stick with soda."

"Not you Glenn," Daryl said, as Glenn started to take a drink of soda. Glenn looked up at him in surprise. "Ya keep drinkin' little man, I wanna see how red yer face can get," he said grinning from ear to ear and pouring him a shot of the whiskey he had found. I laughed as Glenn took the shot Daryl gave him and looked at it with hesitance. He finally tipped back the shot and his face scrunched together from the kick of the liquor.

"It seems we haven't properly thanked our host," Rick said standing, with his glass in hand.

"Cheers!" We all erupted, raising our glasses to the man sitting in the corner of the room.

"Boo-yah!" Daryl said, lifting the entire bottle. I laughed and echoed him. Daryl came back around the table to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. His step was starting to get clumsy. I giggled as he leaned against me.

"So when are you going to tell us what happened here, doc?" Shane asked, his eyes on his plate. "With all the other doctors. People who are supposed to be figuring this out."

"We're celebrating, Shane," Rick said across the table from him. "We don't need to talk about this now."

"But this is why we're here, isn't it? To find the answers? Instead, we found him," he said, motioning towards Jenner.

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left," he explained, from the corner of the room. "Went to be with their families. And when things got worse, and the military got over run, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane asked, lifting his glass to his lips.

"No," he said shaking his head slightly. "Many couldn't face what was out there. They...opted out. There was a rash of suicides."

I leaned my head against Daryl's chest as his words sunk in.

"You didn't leave," Andrea said. "Why?"

"I just kept working. Hoping. To do some good."

"Dude, you are such a buzz kill," Glenn said, looking directly towards Shane.

* * *

><p>"The housing area closed down a while ago. But these couches are comfortable. There's also some cots in storage if you'd like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might like," Jenner said, turning to us. "Just don't plug in any electronics. Same applies to you all. If you shower, go easy on the hot water." With that Jenner disappeared down the hall.<p>

"Hot water," I said slowly, a smile creeping to my face. I grabbed Daryl by the wrist and stumbled into one of the rooms. I let out a fit of giggles as I tripped over my own feet and fell into the back of the couch. Daryl steadied me by my shoulders and turned me to face him. I leaned against him wrapping my arms around him and lifting my head to meet his lips. His mouth met mine with eagerness. I felt his tongue at my teeth as I pulled back giggling. "Sorry," I laughed when he gave me a look. I gathered some clean clothes out of my bag and stumbled into the bathroom to shower. I barely got the door shut when I stumbled into the counter.

"Ya okay in there?" Daryl called to me, his words lightly slurred.

"Yeah," I giggled. "Just slipped."

I turned on the shower, and let out a moan as I reached into the spray and was met with hot water. I undressed quickly and stepped into the stream of steaming water and pulled the shower door behind me. It was pure ecstacy against my skin. I stood in the shower with my eyes closed, and my head leaned back to let the water wash through my hair.

A few minutes passed when I heard the shower door opening. I jumped to cover myself, when Daryl entered into the shower. "W-what are you doing?" I exclaimed, a blush creeping across my face as I took notice of him completely naked.

"Relax," he said, pulling my hands away from my body. "It ain't like I haven't seen ya naked before." I felt my blush deepen as his eyes wandered over me and pushed me back against the wall, his lips pressing into mine eagerly. I slowly started to relax as I let his tongue explore my mouth, and his hands wander over my body. I let my hands trace over his stomach and chest up to up around his neck as he started to lift the back of one of my knees around his waist.

As he reached for the other knee, I slipped, banging my head into the cubby holding the shampoo, conditioner, and soap.

I sat at the bottom of the shower stunned for a moment, before erupting into giggles again. Daryl kneeled down next to me, checking my head. "Ya okay?" he asked, worry etched in his expression. I could smell the booze on his breath.

"Go away so I can shower without injuring myself," I giggled, pushing him away. "You can wait a few more minutes. But you have to shower before." I stood and pushed him out of the shower giggling at his expression. He grumbled something that I didn't hear due to the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist while leaving the bathroom. I turned back to the stream of hot water and grabbed for the shampoo.

* * *

><p>I exited the bathroom to be met by Daryl's arms wrapping themselves around me, and his lips crashing into mine. I giggled and pushed him away. "No. Shower first," I said pushing him into the bathroom. He rolled his eyes and shut the door in my face. I giggled and sat on the cot that he had claimed, and took a swing of the whiskey bottle he left next to it. I laid back, the whiskey still in my hand and stared up at the ceiling fan.<p>

The sound of the shower drowned everything else out. A few swigs of whiskey later, my mind was beyond fuzzy. The sound of the shower stopped. After just a few moments, Daryl was hovering over me in only his boxers, straddling my hips. He grabbed the bottle from me and placed it on the floor, before his kissed me roughly. His hands found their way under my shirt and his fingers danced over my skin where I had found it too difficult to put on a bra. I pulled away from his kiss only long enough to remove my shirt and throw it somewhere across the room.

He kissed me again, but this time, his mouth moved lower to my neck where he bit hard as I arched my body into his. His hands traveled lower to the waist of the shorts I was wearing. His hands paused for a moment and he pulled away from me.

"Are ya sure ya want to do this?" he asked, his words slurring. "We don't have to if ya don't want to."

I stared up at him for a moment, his words taking longer to process in my mind. If it wasn't for the liquid courage running through my body, I probably wouldn't have the courage to do this. But the whiskey made me realize that I wanted to feel something other than fear and exhaustion. He mistook my silence as a no, and started to climb off of me. I sat up quickly and started to push him back down to the cot.

"Rae, we don't have-," he stopped mid sentence as I returned the hard bite to his neck. He let out a low growl in the back of his throat as I scraped my teeth along the spot. I pulled away from his neck to kiss him as he rolled over, pinning me beneath him.

* * *

><p>Daryl handed me my clothes when he pulled on his boxers. He had muttered something about people having no privacy around here and someone barging in. It was hard to understand him with his words slurring and thick southern accent. As I got dressed, I stumbled and landed back on the cot. The whiskey was still in full effect and still getting worse. I giggled as he collapsed onto the cot on his back.<p>

"Ya look like you were attacked by a wild animal," he said reaching up and running a finger across the side of my neck that received the abuse of his bitting.

"Same to you," I giggled, eyeing the purple bruises developing on his skin. "At least I can hide mine with hair."

He pulled me down to lay on his chest. I wrapped my arm around his waist, and tilted my head so I could look up at him. "Why do ya want to hide it?" he asked, smirking. "Ashamed?"

I couldn't find words to say through the fuzz in my mind. To answer, I kissed his jaw and rested my head underneath his. We laid there in silence as I drifted to sleep.

* * *

><p>Surprised?<p>

Me too haha. I wasn't originally planning on throwing that last part in until I got to writing it. I pondered on if I should add it or not for a day or so, and decided to go with it.

So what will this do for their relationship? Begin to ruin what they had? Or bring them closer?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reviewing3


	17. The End To Sorrow

Daryl moving woke me up that morning. My eyes fluttered open as I stretched against Daryl's side. He sighed in his sleep and pulled me closer to him. I rested my head on his chest as I thought over last nights events. Starting out with the blood tests, dinner, whiskey and wine, finally being able to take a hot shower. I felt a blush immediately rushed to my face as Daryl's face flooded my memory. Every movement, every kiss, every touch. My face grew hotter when I couldn't push the thoughts away.

What the hell had we done? I had only kissed him three days before. I could count on one hand how many times I had kissed him since then. Yet, I had given no protest when he pushed my hands away from covering myself. I had let him do as he pleased, and even guided him to what I needed.

I guess it was better than the first time though. After he gave me a simply innocent kiss in his bedroom, three years ago, I had felt my heart jump and skip a beat in excitement that he felt the same feelings for me that I had felt for years, but was too scared to tell incase it ruined our friendship. I had kissed him back eagerly, and somewhere in the midst of all the emotions, Daryl mistook it for something else. And I still hadn't protested. Only told him to be gentle because it was my first time.

So I guess, a few kisses then drunken sex was better than the first kiss turning into sex. I blushed deeper if it was possible. I was pretty sure that my face matched my hair by now. What did this mean for us now? Would he even remember it? Was it just a drunken hookup that was a one time thing for now? Or was it something more?

"Mornin'," he said, burying his nose into my hair and making me jump.

I tried to push the blush away as he smirked at me. "Morning," I squeaked. He pulled his head back to look at me. When he saw the blush, the smirk deepened.

"Whut're you blushing about?" he mocked. He obviously remembered.

I pushed away from him and stuck my tongue out at him, while pushing all of my thoughts to the back of my mind. He didn't need to know what I was thinking yet. And without the liquid courage in my veins, I sure as hell didn't have the bravery to tell him yet. I sat up on the cot, flinching slightly at the small pain in my head.

"Hung-over?" he asked, sitting up next to me, and pulling me against his side.

"No. Just slight pain," I answered. "I grew up with you, remember? Whiskey and scotch was an optional beverage," I looked up at him to ask if he was, but my eyes focused in on the side of his neck which was littered in bite marks and dark bruises. "That's not going to be fun to explain," I said, running my fingers over it.

"Don't explain then. Ain't none of the business whut we did," he grunted. "And ya look like I tried to kill ya."

My stomach answered before I could. I stood up from the cot to grab clothes from my bag. Daryl disappeared into the bathroom, so I changed in the room quickly to one of the three pairs of jeans I had and an undershirt. As I was reaching for one of my shirts, I saw one of Daryl's in his bag. I grabbed it, and saw that it still had sleeves, which were long, and was clean. I searched through his bag quickly to make sure he still had another clean shirt before I took it. Deciding that he had enough, I tugged his shirt on, and left the room quickly before he could see me taking it.

As I walked down the hallway, I braided my hair over the offended side of my neck to hide the bruises from everyone's sight. I followed the sound of voices to the kitchen area where we ate dinner the night before.

Good mornings echoed through the room, as I sat down at the table, making sure my hair stayed in place. I sat across from Shane who had his head down. I figured it was a hang-over when I saw three long scratches down the side of his neck. I pursed my lips in confusion and glanced away quickly as he glanced up at me.

"So what's for breakfast?" I asked, as T-dog brought a pan over from the stove.

"Eggs! Powdered, but I still make them good," he grinned.

Daryl entered the room brining in the last of our group and sat next to me. "Jesus, man, you look like you were attacked," T-dog said, after dropping some of the eggs onto Glenn's plate, who was leaning over, cradling his head in his hands.

I suddenly felt everyone's eyes on us as they looked at the bruises on Daryl's neck and then looked at me. I blushed deeply, and stared at my hands in my lap, not meeting anyone's gaze.

"I kinda was," he said low enough to where only I could hear. I elbowed him in the side, and luckily Jenner entered the room, drawing the attention away from us. He eyed the shirt I was wearing. "Is that mine?"

"Maybe," I said, with a sheepish smile

"Good morning," he said, making his way into the kitchen.

We answered him back in various ways. I held back a chuckle as Glenn let out a pained groan.

"You know, Doc, I don't want to start throwing questions at you first thing," Dale said, setting his fork down.

"But you will," Jenner added with a knowing smile.

"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea said, sitting back in her chair.

He leaned against the counter and glanced at all of us. "Let's eat first, shall we?"

* * *

><p>Jenner led us back to the same computer room we had seen yesterday. We filed in after him, curious as to what he was going to show us. None of the questions were answered as we walked down the hallway. Andrea and Dale were asking multiple questions, but Jenner simply ignored them and kept walking.<p>

"Vi, play us back TS-19," Jenner called out as we all stood amongst the computers.

"Play back of TS-19," the computer mimicked as the screen flickered to life.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this," Jenner said as I leaned against one of the computers. On the screen was the outline of a persons head, with the brain lighting up inside of it.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked, excitement in his voice.

"An extraordinary one," Jenner said with a smile. "Not that it matters in the end," he added sadly. He turned back to the screen. "Take us in to EIV," he said to the screen.

"Enhanced-internal-view," the computer responded.

The view of the person changed to the side, and zoomed into the brain. The new view of the brain was as if it had been cut in half and we could see the brain stem. It slowly began to move in closer to what looked like wires connecting together in small bundles, to be spread out again and connected in another spot, millions of times. Little blue lights flickered through the wires at different times, causing a flashing effect.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked, sitting into a chair.

"It's a persons life," he said, slowly turning to face us. "Experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere, in all that organic wiring, in all those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you, unique. And human."

"You don't make sense?" Daryl asked next to me, in more of a statement. "Ever?"

"Those are synapses," he explained. "Electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, thinks, does, from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death?" Rick asked, stepping forward. "That's what this is? A vigil?"

"Yes," Jenner murmured, his eyes still on the screen. "Or rather the play back of the vigil."

"This person died?" Andrea asked. "Who?"

"Test subject nineteen. Someone who was bitten and infected. Then volunteered to have us record the process," Jenner leaned back on one of the computers. "Vi, scan forward to the first event."

The computer echoed him, and the screen sped up and stopped as black began to invade into the brain. I reached out for Daryl's hand as the black slowly began to take over the brain. "What is that?" I asked, watching the black.

"It invades the brain like meningitis," he said, glancing back at us. "The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shut down, and then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were, or ever will be, gone."

I squeezed Daryl's hand tightly and stepped closer to him. He glanced down at me and then back to the screen squeezing my hand in return. Andrea turned away from the screen with a shaky sigh.

"She lost someone two days ago," Lori explained to Jenner when he looked at her in question. "Her sister."

"I lost someone too," Jenner said quietly to Andrea. "I know how devastating it is." Andrea didn't answer him and kept her eyes to the ground. Jenner stepped back and turned to the screen again. "Scan ahead to second event," he told Vi, whom echoed it back as the screen sped up again. "The resurrection times vary wildly. We have reports of it happening as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In this case it was two hours, one minute, and seven seconds."

As he stopped speaking, red lights began to flicker through the brain stem. It was different from the blue lights. The red lights were bright, and short, only flickering through the brain stem which was still black. The rest of the brain didn't light back up to the blue it once was.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked, her arm wrapped tightly around Carl.

"No," Jenner said, shaking his head. "Just the brain stem. Basically, it get's them up and moving."

"But they're not alive," Rick said, moving next to Jenner.

"You tell me," Jenner said, motioning to the screen.

"It's nothing like before," Rick said, studying the screen. "Most of that brain is dark."

"Dark, lifeless, dead," Jenner added. "The frontal lobe, the neo-cortex, the human part, that doesn't come back. The you part. Just the shell. Driven by mindless instinct."

Something entered the top of the screen. A bright light blinded the screen for a moment, and I jumped as something shot through the brain of the person now beginning to move on the screen. "What was that?" I asked, moving closer to Daryl.

"He shot his patient," Andrea answered for Jenner. "Didn't you?"

"Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations," Jenner said ignoring Andrea's question.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked, crossing her arms tightly.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal," he said, listing off the possibilities.

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui asked tightly. I pursed my lips.

"There is that," Jenner said, nodding.

"Somebody must know something," Andrea pressed. "Somebody, somewhere."

"There are others right?" Carol asked. "Other facilities?"

"There may be some," Jenner said, turning to her. "People like me."

"You don't know?" Rick asked loudly. "How can you not know?"

"Everything went down," Jenner muttered. "Communications, directives, all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

"So it's not just here," Andrea confirmed all of our thoughts. "There's nothing left anywhere. Nothing. That's what you're really saying."

He stayed silent. I sighed and turned away from the screen and squeezed the bridge of my nose.

"Man, I'm gonna get shit faced drunk again," Daryl said, rubbing at his eyes and turning away from the screen to lean on the computers.

"Doctor, I know this has been taxing for you, and I hate to ask one more question, but that clock," Dale said, pointing towards the large digital clock on the wall. "It's counting down. What happens at zero?"

"The...The basement generators, they run out of fuel," Jenner said, turning away from all of us.

"And then?" Rick pressed. Jenner didn't answer, and left us in the computer room. "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"

"When power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."

* * *

><p>"What the fuck was that supposed to mean?" I asked as Daryl followed me into the room we claimed. "Facility-wide decontamination?"<p>

"Who knows," Daryl said, picking up the bottle of whiskey next to the cot and sat down, taking a swing of it. "But I'm gettin' shit faced drunk."

"I'm getting our shit together," I said, shoving the few things that had pulled out of my bag back in. "I've got a bad feeling."

I grabbed a few things out of the bathroom, spare toothbrushes, tooth paste, shampoo and conditioner, towels and soap. I shoved them into my duffel bag and stepped out of the bathroom to see Daryl laying across the cot. I shoved his things back into his bag, and as I was standing up, the lights went out.

Daryl stood from the cot quickly, and stepped out into the hallway, pulling me up by the wrist in the process, leaving the bags in the room.

"The fuck is going on?" Daryl asked someone in the hallway. I moved next to him to see Jenner grab the whiskey bottle from him.

"Energy use is being prioritized," he stated drinking from the bottle. I grabbed Daryl's hand, and followed Jenner.

"Air isn't a priority? Or lights?" Dale asked. As if on cue, the lights in the hallway flickered off.

"It's not up to me. Zone five is shutting itself down."

"Hey! Whut the hell's that mean?" Daryl yelled after him. Jenner disappeared down the corner of the hallway. Daryl pulled out of my hand to run after him. "Hey, man, I'm talkin' to you. Whut do ya mean it's shuttin' itself down? How could a buildin' do anythin'?"

"You'd be surprised," Jenner said, walking down the steps, to meet Rick coming up from the basement where he, Shane, Glenn and T-dog went to look for the generator.

"Jenner, what's happening?" he demanded, stopping him at the bottom of the steps.

"The system is dropping all of the non-essential uses of power," Jenner said, brushing passed him. "The system is designed to shut itself down just at the half hour mark," we entered the computer room the second time that day. "Just on time," he said, motioning to the clock that read thirty-one minutes and twenty-eight seconds. Jenner stopped at the bottom of the stairs up to the computers and handed Daryl back the whiskey. Daryl snatched it out of his hand quickly. "It was the french," Jenner said, glancing at Andrea and turning to walk up the steps.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"They were the last ones to hold out, as far as I know. While a lot of people were running out into the hallways and committing suicide, they stayed in the labs til the end. They thought they were close to a solution," as he spoke he made sure to make direct eye contact with each of us.

"What happened?" Jacqui asked.

"The same thing that's happening here," Jenner said, leaning against one of the computers. "No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuels. How stupid is that?" Jenner stepped away from us, as Shane marched up the steps.

"Let me tell you-" Shane started, but was yanked back by Rick.

"To hell with this Shane, forget about him," he turned to us. "Lori, everyone, grab your things, we're getting out. Now!"

I turned to run back towards the room, when red lights started to flash, and a buzzing noise began to sound. "Thirty minutes to decontamination," Vi said over us.

"You heard Rick, get your stuff, now!" Shane yelled. The door that we had come through the first time we had entered, closed.

"Go get our things," Daryl said, turning towards Jenner. "Hurry."

I nodded, and ran back to the stairs. I heard Daryl curse something at Jenner, and barely looked over my shoulder to see Daryl being pulled back by Shane. I swallowed the fear back and dashed up the stairs and into the room. I grabbed the bags and threw one over my shoulder and held the other one to my side as I ran back to the group.

"Jenner, open that door now," Rick said quickly walking up to Jenner who was sitting in a chair as I came down the stairs. I rushed over to Daryl and dropped our things down next to me.

"There's no point," Jenner said shaking his head. "The topside is locked down, the emergency exits are sealed."

"Well, open the damn things," Daryl said, glaring fiercely at the doctor.

"That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you, once that front door, shut it wasn't coming back open. I told you, you heard me," he sat back in his chair. "It's better this way."

"What is?" Rick asked frantically. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?" Jenner didn't answer. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?" Rick shouted.

"Do you know what this place is?" Jenner exploded, slamming his fist down on the computer and bolting up from his chair. I stepped back behind Daryl away from his sudden outburst. "We protected the public from some very nasty things! Weaponized small pox! Ebola strains that can wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! _Ever!_" We were all silent as Jenner sat back down in his chair stiffly. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure, say a terrorist attack, H-I-T's are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H-I-T's?" Rick asked.

"Vi, define," Jenner said, turning back towards his computer.

"H-I-T's hypothermal fuel explosives consist of a two stage, aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of any great power and duration of any other explosives other than nuclear. The vacuum pressure effects ignite the oxygen between five thousand, to six thousand degrees and is useful where the greatest loss of life and damage is desired."

I leaned against the computer with head in my hands covering my face. As the computer finished talking, I heard crying around me. I had no idea where Daryl was.

"It set's the air on fire," Jenner finished for the computer. "No pain. An end to sorrow. Grief. Regret. Everything."

* * *

><p>Dundundunn.<p>

Filler chapter, again sort of. Laraes feelings are all mixed up about Daryl, yet she ignores them. What's that going to do to their relationship?

Thank you to all my lovely readers, giving me such positive feedback :)

Leave a review and let me know what you think!


	18. All Roads Lead To Home

I sat with my back against the computers, my knees pulled up to my chest. I watched quietly as Daryl paced back and forth, the anger rolling off of him in waves. Some were crying, some were sitting quietly as I was, and others couldn't tear their eyes away from the clock counting down.

Daryl finally changed his path up to the steel door that trapped us. He threw the bottle of whiskey at it will all the power he had. "Open the damn door!" he exploded at Jenner, who sat quietly in response. Shane broke into an emergency box that had an axe and fire extinguisher. He grabbed the axe, and ran towards the door.

"Out of my way!" he yelled at the people were standing in his path. He dodged around them and hit the door as hard as he could. It barely left a scratch on the surface. Daryl caught an axe that T-dog tossed him and joined Shane in trying to beat down the door.

"You shouldn't have asked questions. It would have been so much easier," Jenner said, sitting back in his chair.

I turned my eyes to him. "Easier for who?" I asked.

"All of you. You know what's out there. A short, brutal life and an agonizing death," he looked over each of us. "Your sister," he said, pointing at Andrea. "What was her name?"

"Amy," she answered quietly.

"Amy," he echoed. "You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that really what you want for your wife and son?" he asked, looking towards Rick.

"I don't want this," he spat, glaring at Jenner.

"We can't make a dent," Shane said, leaning against the computers, his breathing labored. Daryl came up beside him, axe still in hand and glaring death towards Jenner. His knuckles were white from his grip on the handle.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher," Jenner stated matter-of-fact.

"Well, yer head ain't!" Daryl exclaimed, raising his axe and lunging for Jenner.

Dale and Rick grabbed for him and shoved him back, while T-dog twisted the axe out of his hands. Jenner stood, as Daryl rounded the computers to come to my side. I reached up for his hand, and he helped me to my feet. I wrapped my arms around his middle as he glared at Jenner.

"You do want this," Jenner said, eyes directly on Rick. "Last night, you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everyone you loved was dead."

I turned my head into Daryl's chest as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Even Rick thought it. Optimist Rick thought it was only a matter of time before we were dead. Rick, who always assured everyone that everything would be okay eventually.

"You really said that?" Shane asked, anger seeping into his voice. "After all your big talk?"

"I had to keep hope alive," Rick defended.

"There is no hope," Jenner argued. "There never was."

"There always hope," Rick shot at Jenner. "Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somewhere! _Someone_!"

"What part of everything's gone don't you understand?" Andrea spat from her spot on the floor.

"Listen to your friend. She get's it," Jenner said, a small smile on his face. "This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."

"This isn't right," Carol begged in tears, holding Sophia close to her. "You can't just keep us here."

"One tiny moment," Jenner said leaning forward, trying to rationalize with her. "A millisecond. No pain."

"My daughter doesn't deserve this!" she yelled at him.

"Wouldn't it be kinder?" Jenner asked. "More compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?"

The sound of a shot gun being cocked, made me turn my head from Daryl's chest. Shane came up the steps, his glare sent on Jenner and his gun in hand. Rick jumped infront of him and tried to push him back. Shane shoved him back harder, and out of his way. Daryl pulled me behind him and stood in front of me almost as if he was a shield. I gripped onto the back of his shirt and looked around him.

"Stay out of this!" He approached Jenner, the bloodlust almost visible on him. "Open that door. Or I'm going to blow your brains out." Rick approached him from behind and whispered something frantically to him. Shane's eyes flickered to Rick then back to Jenner, his finger still on the trigger. Shane let out an animalistic yell and Daryl pushed me fully behind him. I jumped as a sound of a gun shot exploded, and the sound of computers being shot echoed through the room.

The sound of a struggle stopped the rain of bullets. I peaked passed Daryl again, to see Shane on the floor with Rick standing above him, gun gripped tightly in his hands. Rick handed T-dog the gun, who took it and kept his eyes trained on Shane who was pushing himself up off the floor. All of us were silent. Rick turned to us slowly. His eyes were frantic and his breathing labored. I could tell the gears in his mind were turning as he looked over us. He turned back to Jenner.

"I think your lying," he said calmly. "Your lying. About no hope. If that were true, you would have bolted with the rest. Or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?"

"It doesn't matter," Jenner sighed.

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?" Rick pressed, leaning towards him. Daryl turned from the situation, and grabbed the axe that had been pulled from him from the floor where T-dog had left it. He stormed up to the door.

"Not because I wanted to," Jenner said, glaring up towards Rick. "I made a promise," he continued, standing to his full height. "To her," he said quietly and pointing towards the screen. "My wife. Test subject nineteen was my wife. She made me promise to keep working as long as I could. How could I say no?" Daryl started beating on the door with the axe, ignoring Jenners words. "She was dying. It should have been me on that table. It wouldn't have been a loss to anyone, she was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place, I just worked here! In our field, she was an einstein! Me, I'm just Edwin Jenner. She could have done something about this."

"Your wife didn't have a choice," Rick tried to rationalize. "You do. That's all we want. A choice. A chance."

"Let us keep trying as long as we can," Lori begged.

Jenner shook his head with a sigh. "I told you, topsides locked down, I can't do anything about that." He walked over to a scanner and scanned a card in his hand. He pushed a few numbers and the doors slid open.

"Come on!" Daryl yelled. I grabbed both of our bags quickly and ran up the plat form to him. He yelled at the group to hurry as my eyes were trained on the clock. Five minutes. All we had was five minutes to get out.

"I'm staying!" Jacqui said, pulling out of T-dogs hands. "I'm staying sweetie. I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue. And no point. Just go. Get out while you can."

Daryl grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me down the hallway, foot steps falling behind us. We ran down the hallway as fast as any of us could, and quickly got to the topside where we entered. Daryl immediately went to attacking the glass with the axe in his hands, Shane along side him. I stood back next to Lori and Carl as we nervously watched them trying to break through the glass. T-dog tried using a chair, but broke the legs off of it before he could even scratch the glass. Shane tried his gun, with the same feat.

"Rick, I may have something that could help," Carol said digging into her purse. "Your first day at camp, when I washed your uniform, I found this," she said, pulling out a grenade. Rick snatched it from her, pulled the pin and threw it towards the window. Daryl grabbed me and threw me to the floor, him landing roughly ontop of me. He covered my head, as the glass shattered, spraying over us. Before I could even register what happened, he pulled me to my feet and towards the window. He jumped down and paused long enough to help me land on my feet before he was pulling me towards his truck.

We dashed along the lawn of the CDC, jumping over bodies, and dodging passed the dead reaching for us. Daryl let go of my wrist to hot the head off of a walker. We barely made it to his truck before he yanked open the door and pushed me inside.

"Get down!" he shouted, pushing me into the floorboards. He fell ontop of me, as I felt the first wave of the explosion. The flash of light blinded me as I squeezed my eyes shut. A sonic boom rattled the truck and Daryl tucked my head into his chest as the truck began to stop its rattling. A few moments of silence passed. Daryl lifted himself off of me, and pulled me out of the floor boards. I looked towards where the CDC once was standing. A mushroom cloud of black smoke filled the sky as flames danced across the grass.

Daryl let out a low breath that he had been holding as the flames flickered up to the sky, and catching the bodies lain around the now fallen building on fire. I felt my heart leap as Dale helped Andrea to her feet from behind sand bags and pull her to the RV. But Jacqui was no where to be seen. Daryl squeezed my shoulder as I sat back in the seat of the truck, my breathing labored.

"You still with me?" he asked, his blue eyes burning into mine.

All I could do was nod slowly, my mind still trying to wrap around what happened.

"Once we get a few miles away from the city, we'll pull over and figure out where we're going next," Rick's voice crackled over the CB.

The channel stayed quiet as I leaned against Daryl. He shifted into gear and wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to his side. As we pulled away from where the CDC once stood, I watched in the rear view mirror as the sky filled with black smoke.

* * *

><p>"Fort Benning is really the only option we have," Shane was saying to Rick as Daryl and I got out of his truck and walked to the RV. We were pulled over on the side of a highway, the black smoke from the CDC no longer visible. Rick looked towards me.<p>

"Is your home still an option?" he asked, his eyes hopeful.

"Of course," I said nodding. "We won't be able to go through the city though. We'll have to go around," I looked up at Daryl who was chewing his lower lip in thought, eyes squinted and lowered to the ground. "If we don't run into any detours we'll be there late afternoon. And with any luck, we'll be able to get the generators going before dark."

* * *

><p>"It's weird seeing everything like this now," I said, leaning forward in the seat. "I mean. The other towns looked like this. But I know how it should look." We were only a few miles from the town Daryl and I called home. "And it just looks...weird."<p>

Daryl grunted in agreement. I watched as we passed a sign that said "Bostwick: 5 miles." I sat back in the seat with a sigh. The others followed behind us as we lead the way to Bostwick, Georgia. A little town, barely a dot on any map.

"Rae, don't get yer hopes up," Daryl said quietly. "He's probably not be there."

I blinked at him. "I know," I said, surprised. I sat quiet for a moment. "I know he probably won't be. But," I smiled up at him a little. "I guess part of me keeps hoping he will be."

He didn't say anything as he chewed on the inside of his lip. As we continued to drive the nervousness built up in my stomach. There weren't any walkers around that I could see. But the town only had a three-hundred person population. Maybe everyone had fled to Atlanta or someplace else, and anyone who had turned to a walker here, had already wandered off.

As we entered the town, I still saw no walkers. No people at all. The town looked barely touched except for a few broken windows and a few misplaced cars in the road. We turned down the street that my house was on. I could see the roof from here. I sat straight up in the seat to try and see the house better. The house was big, but not huge. A two story, four bed-room, three bath house with a den as a basement that could be used as a large room. My dad had built it with some of his construction friends because my mom had always wanted a big house, but they couldn't afford one. So he built one for her with extra supplies he could get from construction sites, or buy with extra money he could get by working longer hours. The bills had always been hard to pay, but we somehow always managed.

We pulled up next to the house and Daryl slowed the truck to a stop. I slowly out of the truck on Daryl's side not wanting to mess with bags yet. He closed the door behind me, as I looked up the house that I had grown up in. It was white, with a dark mahogany wrap around porch, and matching window shutters, frames and door. The once well kept lawn was now over grown with weeds and dandy-lions. There was a large shed in the backyard which held the generator and fuel. I pursed my lips when I saw that it was dark inside.

I heard the rest of the group climbing out of their vehicles as I started to step towards the house. The sound of barking from inside the house stopped me. Suddenly, from the side of the house a dog that came up to my hips bolted towards me, running full speed. I kneeled down with open arms and a wide grin as he nearly tackled me to the ground, licking my face happily.

Jake, short for Jacobi, my dad's dog was okay. He was part pitbull, part lab, but he was the sweetest dog you'd ever meet. He was a dark blonde-tan color, with wide light brown eyes. Always happy and spunky, he was trained to not bite or bark unless commanded, or if he felt like you were in danger.

"Mom, it's a dog!" Carl exclaimed.

"Careful Carl, he's a big dog," Lori warned.

"Don't worry, he would never bite anyone," I lifted my eyes to look at Lori. She slowly let him go with an apprehensive look towards Jake. He and Sophia gathered around him, petting him and scratching him behind the ears, which he urged on by rolling over to his stomach.

"Larae," Daryl muttered, as he rested a hand on my shoulder.

I looked up at him from my kneeling position on the ground. He wasn't looking at me. I followed his eyes to a figure coming out of the woods. The figure was tall, but not exactly lanky. You could see the muscles underneath it's skin from hard labor. As the figure got closer, I saw red hair. The same red hair as mine. It's clothes were torn, tattered, bloody and covered in grime. It walked slowly towards us, it's head down.

"Dad," I breathed.

* * *

><p>Cliffhanger? I guess so. :)<p>

So is Larae's dad a walker, or living? What do you all think?

Thank you to my lovely readers for all the positive feedback! Feedback keeps me motivated! Even if it's just asking for faster updates :) So leave a review and let me know what you think!

Yes, even you lurkers!


	19. Flickers Of The Past

I was on my feet in a flash. I felt Daryl make a grab for me as I took off running to my dad. "Dad!" I exclaimed, my feet not carrying me fast enough to him.

"Larae, wait! He may be a walker!" Daryl shouted after me. I could hear his feet behind me.

His words didn't register in my head as I picked up my speed. My dad was here. My dad was _alive._ That's all that mattered. "Daddy!" My dad lifted his head, surprise written on his face. He stopped walking in mid-step as I slammed into him full speed, my arms wrapping around his middle. He stumbled to his knees when I slammed into him. "Daddy," I murmured into his chest. Tears were streaming down my face that I had just noticed was there. "You're alive. Thank God, you're alive."

"L-larae.." he choked, wrapping his arms around me. I lifted my head to meet his eyes. Tears were streaming down his face as I hugged him tighter and buried my face into his chest. He hugged me back just as tight a sob catching in his chest. "You're okay," he whispered into my hair. "You're okay."

* * *

><p><strong>Daryl<strong>

Did she know _nothing?_ Rushing off like that? He could have been a walker! Daryl stood halfway across the yard from Larae holding onto her father for dear life. She had taken off running without any thought. Although, somehow he was still alive, that which he was thankful for, he had come walking out of the woods looking exactly like a walker.

Jake, their dog, trotted passed him, giving him a happy lick to the hand. He watched as the dog pranced up to them, pushing in between them and licking their tear stained faces, earing a hearty laugh from Larae. He chewed back a smile when he heard it. It had been so long since he had heard her laugh like that. Not just a simple chuckle, or giggle. But a real laugh.

"I take it that's her father," Rick said, coming up to his side, watching the scene before them.

Daryl gave a short nod as Larae pulled the tall man to his feet and started tugging him towards where he and Rick stood, a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Daryl," he greeted, extending his hand.

"Ethan," he answered, taking his extended hand. Ethan dropped his hand after a firm grip, and his eyes moved to Rick.

"And you are?" he asked, looking him over.

"Rick Grimes," he answered, nodding his head. "Larae has been with our group almost as long as this chaos has been happening."

"Group," Ethan echoed, looking passed the two men to the others standing behind them.

"We just came from the CDC," Larae explained. "We were going to go to Fort Benning. This is kind of a halfway point."

"You left the CDC?" he asked, brows furrowing. He shook his head. "Nevermind for now. It's getting dark. We should get everyone inside and settled down for dinner. We'll talk more about it then," he said, ruffling Larae's hair. She beamed up to him, then towards Daryl.

He smiled slightly back at her. He really was thankful that Ethan was still alive. He was a good man, smart about surviving. He knew just as much about the outdoors and living on his own as he did. But he was more so thankful that he was alive, for Larae's sanity.

* * *

><p><strong>Larae<strong>

I stood in the middle of my bedroom after everyone had been shown around. Nothing had been touched from the day I had left everything in a hurry. Drawers were open, clothes spilling over them, my closet open, things barely hanging on the hangers, some things in the floor. My bed was unmade, and the things on my dresser and desk were knocked over from where I had grabbed various things that meant something to me quickly to shove in my bag.

I picked up a shirt from the floor as a knock came on my door. "Come in," I said, folding the shirt over my arm. My dad opened the door and stood in the doorway for a moment. He entered into the room shutting the door behind him and sat on my bed.

"Haven't touched anything," he smiled.

"I noticed," I answered returning the smile. I sat next to him on the bed, placing the shirt in my hands next to me. I leaned against his shoulder and sighed. "I didn't know if you were going to be alive," I said, looking up at him.

"I didn't know if you were either," he said ruffling my hair with his other hand. We sat there in silence for a few minutes. My dad meant almost everything to me, and the fact he was still alive was a miracle. With him being sick, and the hospitals getting over run, the odds had been against him. Yet he still made it.

"Rick and his family, and Carol and her daughter, will be up here in the spare rooms," My dad said finally. "Everyone else is down stairs in the basement. We have plenty of pillows and blankets for them. Daryl will be in here with you."

I blushed. "Um. Why?"

"Do you not want him to be? You did it as teenagers until you moved. And was I wrong to think that his neck wasn't caused by you? Or did you think I hadn't noticed you had matching bruises?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye. My blush deepened and I looked away from him. He was quiet for a moment "Larae Sinclair Harlow," he said suddenly serious. "That better not be caused by one of those men in that group that you only met a month ago."

"No!" I said, holding my hands up slightly. "I just.." My face was hot.

"It's alright, Larae," he laughed. "You two were together before. You're a grown woman now. Nothing I say will be to try and point fingers. You can make your own decisions. I'm just glad it's someone who will be able to protect you in this world now." I kept my eyes trained on my hands as he talked, trying to push my blush away. "Now, come on," he said, standing. "We shouldn't leave them down there by themselves to cook, now should we? That would make us terrible hosts," he said, his usual smile on his face, and a twinkle in his dark brown eyes.

"Yes. Terribly so," I said quietly with a nod and followed him out of my room. I heard laughter as we descended the stairs. Jake was rolled over to his back in the living room with Carl and Sophia giggling over him. Daryl, Rick, Shane, Dale, Glenn and T-dog were in the dinning room at the kitchen table. I brushed off my dad as he tried to follow me into the kitchen with the women.

"Go sit down and have man talk," I said, smiling at him. "Jake's wonderful company, but I'm sure you miss manly talk."

He smiled down at me, and pulled me into a hug, which I quickly returned. "I love you, girl," he said, releasing me.

"Love you too, dad," I said, walking into the kitchen.

"I sure do hope Carl's still like that at your age," Lori said, smiling widely. She stood next to the sink, a potato that she had gotten from the garden out back that everyone had been shown on the tour, and peeler in her hands. "I know I wasn't like that with my parents at your age."

"You make it sound like I'm so young," I said, grabbing a second potato peeler and joining her.

"Sweetheart, the only ones younger than you are Carl and Sophia."

I poked my tongue out at her. "Whatever." She laughed at my response.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen, laughing while we cooked. It was..peaceful. Not overly exciting, like the CDC. But peaceful. Like everything was normal. It was dark when we were finally finished and sitting around the table. I sat across from my dad, and next to Daryl.

"Thank you for letting us stay here," Lori said, from the other end of the table. "It's nice to not have to sleep in a tent."

"It's no problem at all," my dad said shaking his head. "Anyone who's a friend of Larae's is welcome here anytime. And after helping her get back home, I should be in debt to you."

"We were only surviving," Rick said, a slight smile on his face. "She's with our group. Of course we would look after her."

"And that what has be in debt to you," my dad said, looking everyone directly in the eyes. Before anyone could say anything he continued. "What happened at the CDC to cause you all to leave? That would seem like a safe place."

"It ran out of fuel," Dale answered, shaking his head.

"It exploded," Glenn explained further. "There's nothing left. We barely got out."

Dinner passed slowly, as everyone was too busy laughing and talking. I sat next to Daryl quietly, as he and I ate, watching my dad and everyone interact. My dad was a people person. He could talk to anyone, about anything. He was one of those people that didn't know a stranger. People were just someone to talk to about interesting things in their life. Another story to hear or tell. Another person to make smile, and to brighten their day. Never strangers.

"Is that your wife?" Andrea asked, pointing to a picture of a woman with long black hair, and pale green eyes, smiling brightly in a white dress on a boat.

"Yes," my dad said, smiling softly at the picture. "Ally."

"You look just like her, Larae," Carol said, glancing between me and the picture. I felt Daryl squeeze my knee comfortingly. "Besides your hair."

"I get that a lot," I said, chewing on the corner of my lip. "Atleast from the people who knew her."

"Did she pass before all of this chaos?" Andrea asked, meeting my eyes.

My vision started to blur around the corners and my head started to feel dizzy."Um. Yeah." I felt Daryl squeeze my knee again.

"What happened?" she asked, bluntly.

I felt my mouth open to answer but no sound came out as my mind faded to another place.

_Blood. So much blood. It was everywhere, smeared on the counter and tile, staining and cream curtains with crimson as vibrant as sin. How could there be so much blood?_

"I don't think we need to talk about this right now," my dad's voice said snapping my mind back to the table. Yet I wasn't sitting. Daryl was leading me away from the table by my wrist, everyone watching in confusion.

"Come on, Rae," he said quietly, leading me to the steps. I glanced back to the kitchen then back to him. He led me half way up the steps before he stopped and turned to face me. "Are ya with me right now?"

"Yeah," I said shakily. "I just..I haven't had a flashback in so long. I'm just..surprised."

He continued to lead me up the steps to my room. Once in my room, I sat at the head of my bed, my knees pulled up to my chin. Daryl paced the room, irritation written all over his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.

"Where does she get off jus' askin' outta nowhere like that?" he spat.

"She doesn't know," I said, watching him pace. "I don't blame her. I blame just being back home." He scoffed in reply. I watched him a few moment's longer and caught his arm as he came close to me. "Stop. You're freaking me out. Just sit down with me."

* * *

><p><strong>Ethan<strong>

"I'm sorry," Andrea said, surprise written on her face. "I didn't know.."

"It's okay," he said, shaking his head, and brushing away her apology. "I wasn't sure if she had told you all."

"Told us what?" Rick asked leaning forward to look at Ethan.

Ethan sat back in his seat, glancing at the two children. "I don't think that this is a story for young ears," he said, nudging Carl who sat next to him, with a smile.

"Hey! I'm not that young!"

* * *

><p>Carol and Lori had taken the children to bed after dinner. It had been a long day, they said. They were all tired, but they were curious enough to stay awake long enough to hear what Ethan had to tell them. They were in the living room, scattered about on the couch, chairs, and floor. Ethan leaned against the bookshelf.<p>

"I'm not sure if she would want me to tell you all this," Ethan started. "So until she tells you herself, you do not know a single thing about this, understand? But if you all are going to be traveling with her, you need to know."

Agreements were chorused through the room. "Now before I get to what happened, you have to know the back story. Laraes mother, Ally, had struggled with severe depression and type two bipolar disorder, through most of her life. When we met, she had just finished counseling, telling me that for the last few years she had been fine. She had suffered little to no symptoms of either mental illness. We were married for three years when she got pregnant, I noticed a few times where

she was elated one minute, but the next, the lowest she had ever been. I simply put it off to those crazy pregnancy hormones," he laughed. "I'm sure you know what I mean," he said, his eyes glittering at Rick.

"Of course," Rick said, returning the small smile.

"Once Larae was born, Ally...She was just..she wasn't ever right after that. The doctors said postpartum depression. But in her moments of clarity, she told me that it wasn't that. That somehow our daughter had done this to her. Had brought back the darkness she spent so long to fight off. She told me that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but have some resentment to Larae. She assured me she would never do anything to her, and that she loved her with everything she could give, but there was always some sort of resentment, deep in her heart." Ethan shook his head with a sigh. "But anytime I suggested a counselor, she would go into a fit of rage. There was no way she would go to a counselor. The years passed, and she didn't get better. She had bad days more than she had good. Larae will be the first person to tell you that she has more bad memories of Ally than good.

"I guess that's part of the reason I was so lenient with letting her be with Daryl so much. He got her mind off of it, and let her be a kid," he smiled. "Those were the few moments she actually got to be a kid. One morning, when Larae was twelve, I had to go to work. It was a good day. Ally had woken before me, and was downstairs making breakfast for Larae and I. She actually took Larae to school, with a smile on her face. I had no idea.." Ethan pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Larae got home before me. She said that the house had been eerily quiet, with Ally no where to be seen. She called Daryl who was sixteen at the time, to come over because she was scared and she didn't want me to miss work. While Daryl was headed this way, she walked the house looking for her.

"She heard water running in the bathroom in my room. She had called out but she didn't get an answer. She said that the door was open just a few inches. She opened the door and..." Ethan stopped to take a breath. "Ally had killed herself. She cut her arms open from the palm of her hand to the crook of her elbow, in one long deep cut on both arms. Larae found her crumpled in the bathtub, water running from the showerhead. At twelve years old, she found Ally's body, dead, the bathroom covered in blood. Daryl found her outside the bathroom, crumpled on the floor, not making a noise, just staring into nothing. When he saw Ally, he called me at work, frantic, trying to get Larae to respond.

"What you saw for that split moment was a flashback. Larae has post-traumatic-stress-disorder. And the fact that in all of this mess was the first time you've seen one, is a miracle."

* * *

><p>And now we find out the reason Daryl is so protective of Larae. Things starting to make sense? I hope so.<p>

All of the emails I got on my phone from everyones positive feed back came on a very rare good day at work! So I was super motivated, came home, sat down and wrote this chapter all in one sitting haha. And because I'm super super thankful for all the feedback, I'm going ahead and posting it.

Thank you to those who reviewed!

Let me know what you think! Even all the lurkers! :) t


	20. Protection

_"Mom?" I called into the quiet house, while closing the door. "Where are you?" I got no reply as I dropped my backpack on the ground, next to the doorframe. "Mom?" I walked into the kitchen where I could hear water running. The faucet at the sink was on high, dishes in the middle of being washed still in the sink. I turned the sink off, silencing the house completely. "Mom?" I called again. I fiddled with the sleeve of my jacket, suddenly nervous and scared. My eyes flickered to the phone on the wall and then to the clock. Three thirty. Daryl would be home by now. I picked up the phone and quickly dialed his number._

_"Hello?" his voice answered._

_"Daryl? It's Larae. I just got home, and I can't find my mom. I'm scared," I said quickly, my eyes flittering around the kitchen and living room._

_"Alright. I be right over," he answered. There was a click and the line went dead. I hung up the phone, and my eyes fell on the steps. Swallowing back my fear, I slowly made my way to them. I took each step slowly, my hand clenched on the railing. Once I got to the top of the steps I paused. "Mom?"_

_No answer._

_But I could see a light creeping out of my parents door at the end of the hall. I slowly made my way towards it. Their door was wide open. The light was coming from the cracked open door to the bathroom. There was no sound coming from inside it. I couldn't find my voice to call out. It took me a moment to gather my courage to walk over to the door. I pushed open the door while holding my breath._

_There was blood. So much blood. It was everywhere, smeared on the counter and tile, staining and cream curtains with crimson as vibrant as sin. How could there be so much blood? The mirror was smeared with it, the toilet was covered in hand prints and smears, the walls, everywhere. I was frozen where I was, eye wide to the scene in front of me. Then my feet took me forward, even though I willed them to turn around, and leave the bathroom, and call the police._

_My mom was a heap in the bathtub. She was curled up on one side of it, her clothes covered in blood, her arms cradled in her lap, to where I could see the two deep cuts on each arm. She was limp. Her skin was as white as snow, her face sunken. Her eyes were wide open, glazed and unseeing, her mouth slack. Above her head, on the tile in the shower her blood spelled, "I'm sorry. I love you both."_

_I turned on my heels, and started to run out of the bathroom when I slipped on the blood in the floor. I landed hard on my hands and knees with a loud thud, my jeans and the sleeves of my jacket getting soaked in her blood. I scrambled out of the bathroom, unsure of if I was sobbing or not. I fell to my knees outside of the bathroom, staring at the blood on my hands. I tried to wipe it away, but it just smeared it more. My eyes started to lose focus. My hyperventilating breath came to almost a stop as I hunched over into a fetal position, my eyes never leaving my hands._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Daryl<em>**

_No one was answering the fucking door. He had been banging on the door for the last five minutes, with no answer and no sound of movement inside. He finally got fed up and opened the door. Laraes backpack was on the floor next to the doorway, but other than that, it didn't look like anyone had been downstairs. Everything was in it's place._

_"Rae?" he called out. He opened the door to the basement. "Rae?" he called down them. Lips pursed at the fact that he didn't get an answer, he shut the door. He quickly took the steps, two at a time. "Larae? Where are you?" he called out over the hallway. He walked to her room and looked in. Nothing. The two spare bedrooms, nothing. The bathroom, nothing. He looked towards her parents room, to see a light coming out from within. He walked over to it, and saw Larae curled up on her knees, hands in front of her face. "Larae?" he exclaimed, rushing over to her and dropping to his knees. He grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her to face him. She was muttering something, eyes wide at the red on her hands. "Larae, whut's wrong? Talk to me!" he said loudly, trying to get her attention. She continued to mutter, and started to shiver underneath his hands. He leaned forward to listen to her mutters._

_"Blood. So much. So much blood." she muttered repeatedly, just barely loud enough over her breath. He looked at her hands again. The red was dried blood, soaking the sleeves to her jacket._

_"Larae," he said frantically. "Whut happened? Whut's wrong? Where is all this blood from?"_

_She didn't respond. He looked behind her and into the bathroom. He felt his stomach drop. He stood up from Larae, and slowly walked around her and into the bathroom. He stopped in the doorway, Larae still muttering behind him. He saw the blood on the floor where it looked like someone had slipped in it. Larae. He stepped forward, and barely got a glimpse of Ally in the bathtub, before he ran out of the bathroom and was scrambling for the phone on the night stand. He fumbled with the phone, dialing the first number he could think of._

_"Hello?" Ethan's voice answered tiredly._

_"Ethan? Ya have to come home! Right now!" he said quickly, his words forming together._

_"Who is this? Daryl? What's wrong?"_

_"Ally," He swallowed. "She..she killed herself. She's in your bathroom, there's blood everywhere! Larae found her, and I can't get her to respond to me! Please, ya have to come home! I don't know-"_

_"Daryl," he said firmly, stopping him in mid sentence. "I'm coming home now. Call the police. Get Larae away from the bathroom."_

_"O-okay," he answered, pulling Larae gently to her feet. "God, she's covered in the blood. She musta gone in the bathroom an' fell."_

_"Just get her down stairs. Call the police. I'll be there in ten minutes." The phone went silent._

_Daryl dropped the phone to the ground and continued to lead Larae from the room. Once he led her to the stairs, he pursed his lips. He lifted her with little difficulty with his one arm around her shoulders, and the other behind her knees. He quickly took the stairs, and sat her down on the couch. He hurried to the phone in the kitchen, and dialed the emergency number, though all it did was connect to the local police force of seven. After quickly relaying the situation to the dispatcher he described Larae's condition to the sheriff,_

_"She jus won't answer me. She's starin' eyewide into nothin' and she was mutterin' to herself. But now she's just shiverin' and starin' off into space," he said nervously running a hand over his forehead, and looking at Larae in the living room._

_"Son, she's gone into shock," the sheriff said. "Get her a blanket, and just be with her. We'll be there soon. So will Ethan. Just do like she's always done for you. Talk to her. Be there for her."_

_Daryl hung up the phone when the line went silent. He moved into the livingroom, and pulled a blanket off of the back of one of the recliners. He sat it next to Larae, and kneeled in front of her, so her eyes were looking into his. "Rae? Can ya hear me?" he asked quietly. "We gotta get this jacket off of ya." With no response he sighed. He reached up to her shoulders and gently pulled the blood sodden jacket off of her with no fight. He used the dry part to wipe the blood off of her hands. He tossed the jacket to the side and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. He moved to sit next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder like she would do for him when he needed someone._

_A few minutes later, her shoulders started to shudder, and a whimper escaped from her throat. She pulled the blanket closer to her, and leaned her head against his chest, turning her body to face more towards him and started to sob. He tightened his arm around her and moved her hair out of her face as his shirt started to become damp with tears. She looked so young curled up under his arm, sobbing loudly against him. So small. So fragile. But she was young. She was only twelve. But she was so far passed her age. She understood things in the world that she shouldn't yet. Like abuse because of his dead beat father, and good for nothing brother. She understood alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, and so many other things that a twelve year old shouldn't have to worry about yet._

_As he heard the sound of Ethan's truck pull up to the house, and the sound of Jake's barking after being let out of the truck, he made a promise to himself._

_He would try his damned ability to never let anything hurt her again._

* * *

><p><strong>Larae<strong>

My eyes flickered open to darkness, whining coming from my door. I blinked back the sleep from my eyes as I realized whatever I was sleeping next to, my back pressed against was moving and warm. As consciousness filled my mind, I felt an arm wrapped around my waist, and breathing against my neck. I lifted my head just enough to see Daryl sleeping form next to me, his eyebrows drawn. I started to lay my head back down on his arm that was outstretched under my pillow when I heard quiet whimpering at my door again.

As gently as I could, I slipped out from Daryl's arm. He grumbled something incoherent and turned his face further into the pillow. I smiled softly at him as I watched him readjust in his sleep in his sleep with me not next to him. Another whimper pulled my attention away from him. I quietly moved to the door and opened it just far enough for Jake to slip inside. His tail wagged happily as he licked my hand when I pet the top of his head. I closed the door behind him and walked back to the bed, missing the warmth next to Daryl. I gently crawled back into bed and repositioned myself under his arm facing him as gently as I could. Jake jumped up on the bed and tucked himself into the back of my knees.

Daryl's face was drawn in what would be described as worry. His eyebrows were drawn and crinkled and his mouth pursed tightly. I lifted my hand to his cheek. His face started to relax when I softly rubbed my thumb against his scruff. I closed in the space between us to where I could nuzzle my nose against his. I kissed him as he started to move his face away. His eyes fluttered open sleepily.

"Whut're ya doin'?" he murmured quietly through his sleep.

"Jake woke me up," I answered him quietly. Jake wagged his tail against the bed. I reached back and scratched him behind the ears as he nuzzled against my hand.

"Whut time is it?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes with his fingers.

"Late. Or early. I don't know. It's still dark outside."

He wrapped his arm back around my waist and pulled me close to him. I tucked my head under his chin and wrapped my free arm around his waist.

"Are ya feelin' okay?" he asked into my hair.

"Yeah," I said quietly.

He pulled his head back to look at me. I pressed my lips against his when he opened his mouth to say something. His hand found the side of my face as I pressed myself even closer to him. His fingers tangled into my hair as his thumb traced circles on my cheek. After a few moments, I broke the kiss. I pressed my forehead against his. His thumb continued to trace shapes on the skin of my cheek. His eyes were shut. His breathing slowly started to become deep and rhythmic and his thumb came to a stop. I moved slowly to tuck my head under his chin, and let myself fall back asleep to the sound of his heart.

* * *

><p><strong>Daryl<strong>

Morning was just creeping through the window when Daryl woke up. As he stretched, Larae moved next to him. He turned his head to see her with her arms wrapped around the dog, her face pressed into his fur, Jake laying fully on his side, using her pillow as his own. She had kicked the blankets off of her down to her knees and was simply using the warmth off of Jake's large furry body to keep warm. That's how she used to always sleep, all these years, until she moved. He smiled slightly as he imagined her coming home from California and being able to sleep like this again. And how she was able to do it again now. Like everything was normal.

He sighed quietly. He just hoped it could stay like this. Quiet. Normal. If only for her sake.

* * *

><p>I must say, this is probably my favorite chapter I have written for this story. The flashback was inspired by 85, one of my newest readers. I had a chapter more than halfway written when she suggested I do a Daryl pov of finding Larae and her mom. I couldn't pass up the idea. So thank you for your amazing idea!<p>

And thank you to everyone who did review! I really do appreciate them! I'm planning on starting to do shoutouts, I guess is what you would call them, for everyone who reviews! I would do it for this chapter, but I'm excited to get it up and I have to be at work in an hour.

Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas! I'll be at work, so I'll need a reason to smile!


	21. Memories Run Deep

"Where are you going?" I asked Daryl, causing him to jump. He was standing on the back porch, adjusting the crossbow on his back. The back door had been open, letting the breeze from the backyard cool the house because it took to much fuel for the generator to use AC.

"Huntin'," he muttered, narrowing his eyes at me. I smiled at him. It was usual that I got to sneak up on him.

"Taking Jake?" I asked, stepping out fully onto the porch and closing the sliding glass door. The others were scattered in between basement and living room.

"Nah. Carl an' Sophia are enjoyin' him too much."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Be careful then, okay?"

"I always am," he said, his hand brushing my hair out of my face. "Whut's got ya so worried now? We ain't seen a walker since we got in town."

"I don't know," I said honestly, with a shrug. "Just seems too quiet. Too calm. Like the CDC."

"Don't worry about me, Rae," he said. "I'll be fine. Always have been."

I nodded. "Just come back before dark," I said, my fingers finding his. I lifted up on my toes to kiss the scruff on his chin. He ducked his head a little to kiss me.

"Promise," he said, pulling away. I smiled at him as he walked down the steps and headed off to the woods. After he disappeared into the trees, I went back into the house, leaving the door open once again. I heard laughter from the living room. I gave one last glance over my shoulder and made my way to the living room, where my dad had photo albums out on the coffee table in front of everyone. I could hear Sophia and Carl laughing down in the basement.

"Daryl in a tux," Glenn was laughing. "With a pink tie. Oh god. That's definitely something I didn't think could happen."

My dad's eyes twinkled as he looked up at me entering the room. "What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously.

T-dog let out a laugh as he held up one of the photo albums while pointing to a photo of Daryl and I. One of the many prom pictures on the page.

"Oh my god, Dad," I said, taking the album and smiling down at it. "Daryl is going to kill you."

The picture was of Daryl with a very irritated look on his face, as I was laughing and pinning a pink flower to his tux. I was sixteen in the picture, and Daryl was twenty. I had convinced Daryl to take me to prom my junior and senior year. But my junior year, I didn't tell him that the dress I had chosen was pink and that after we went to rent his tux, I shooed him out of the store so I could find the right colored tie to match it. The picture was taken in the living room in front of the large windows to the front yard. The dress was a pale baby pink dress that was ruched around the bust and middle, and fell in loose falls to my knees. I knew I would have never been able to convince Daryl to even wear a color close to it, so I tricked him.

The next year, he made sure to go with me to make sure I didn't get a "girly-colored" dress.

"He does clean up rather nicely," Lori laughed, as I passed the album to her and Rick. Dale smiled at the pictures as the album was passed to him. The album made it's way around the room as my dad flipped through other albums finding other remotely embarrassing pictures of Daryl and myself through the years. Birthdays, first days of school and snow days. The moments that Daryl and I both got to be a kid. Where Daryl got to forget about his dad and Merle, and I forgot about my moms mental issues.

As the pictures were passed around to everyone, my dad started telling stories of us.

"This one summer," my dad laughed. "Larae must have been six at the time, Daryl around nine. Ally gave them some change to walk into town and go to the icecream parlor to get an icecream cone. Larae had gotten hers and gone outside to wait for Daryl and one of the older kids around Daryls age pushed Larae to the ground and stole it from her. She was crying when Daryl came out, the kids laughing at her. Daryl gave her his and actually beat the kid up for pushing her down, stealing her icecream and making her cry. The kids ran off crying themselves, and Daryl picked Larae up and made her keep the icecream. But the owner of the parlor saw what Daryl did for her, and from then on, they always got free icecream."

"That's actually...cute," Andrea smiled.

"Daryl did a lot of stuff like that for me," I smiled back. "Always beat up the kids that picked on me. He's always had a temper."

"That's for sure," my dad agreed, his eyes still twinkling.

"Do you remember the time when the boys in his grade started telling him that he was stupid for having a girl best friend?" I asked, grinning from ear to ear. "The boys in his grade ganged up on him after school one day when he was waiting outside my classroom for me. I was in the sixth grade, he was in the eight.

They harassed him for nearly ten minutes when I walked out and he said 'she ain't my friend! She's my girlfriend! And she ain't half as pretty as ya'll's!' and planted a big kiss on me, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me down the hall while I was still in a daze."

"She got home, her face was still as red as her hair," my dad laughed. "It took me damn near an hour to get it out of her what happened."

"Sound's like you two were always head over heels for each other," Shane said, sitting back in his seat.

I blushed, my smile disappearing as I stared sheepishly at my hands. "We aren't head over heels for eachother," I said quietly. "We aren't even together. I...don't know what we are."

I glanced up to see everyone glance at each other with knowing looks. I blushed again.

"They've always been in denial," my dad said patting me on the shoulder. "They were together at one point. Did they ever tell you that?"

"Oh my god, Dad," I said, hiding my face. "You aren't supposed to sell me out."

"You two were actually together? Like a couple?" Lori asked, smiling.

"You two look good together," Carol continued, when I didn't answer, my blush causing my ears to warm.

"We should drop this subject," I muttered into my hands.

"How cute," Andrea poked. "She's embarrassed."

"I'm leaving this conversation," I said, standing and making a bee line to the stairs, not looking at anyone. The blush didn't leave my face as I quickly walked up the stairs and went to my room. I closed my door behind me as I heard laughter down stairs. I should have just gone with Daryl.

* * *

><p>I was laying back on my bed, reading, when a knock sounded on my door. I closed the book and sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Come in," I called.<p>

The door opened to reveal Rick. He paused in my doorway, hand still on the door knob as he looked around my room. I crossed my legs, as his eyes fell on me.

"Come in," I said, smiling. "You don't have to be a stranger."

He stepped inside my room, and took in the walls around him. The lilac walls that were covered in paintings, posters, cd covers, drawings and pictures, white curtains, a small window seat, a desk with an easel, partially used paints and a cherry red acoustic guitar next to the desk.

"These paintings..." he said, meeting my eyes. "You painted them?"

"Yeah," I said, looking over all of them. "Art's kind of my forte."

"You're talented," he said, standing next to the desk.

"Thanks," I said with a smile. "But I take it the reason you're here isn't because you were curious about my room."

"No, I guess not," he breathed with a smile. "I just wanted to thank you."

"For?" I asked.

"Letting us come here. Bringing us to your home. Letting us have a safe place to rest."

I watched him as he talked. The way his shoulders sagged as he spoke, and the way his face went from normal to tired and worn.

"It's not a problem, Rick," I said after a moment. "What we've been through, all of us, we went through it together, I..." I paused. "I think that kind of makes us all a family. A messed up, problem filled family. But a family none the less. And family is always welcome here."

He smiled a genuine smile. "Thank you, Larae."

I nodded and returned his smile. He left the room with another smile and closed the door behind him. I sat there for a moment longer, and picked my book back up, flipped it to the page I was on, and continued reading. I had read the next few paragraphs when I realized I hadn't absorbed a word of it. I sighed and closed the book again. I leaned my head back on my wall for a moment, then looked towards the window.

I stood off my bed and moved over to the window which showed the backyard. I sat on the small seat as I saw Daryl come out of the woods, furry creatures swinging at his hip, crossbow in hand. I smiled as he got closer, my dad meeting him halfway in the yard. They talked for a few moments, my dad laughing at something loudly enough to where I could hear him. I saw Daryl smile a little at it. My dad's laugh was contagious.

Daryl's eyes flickered up to me. I waved at him a little. He nodded in acknowledgment. My dad looked up at me and waved. I returned it with a smile. The two men that I needed in my life were living, and okay. I smiled to myself as I watched them continue to talk. Maybe things were going to finally be okay.

Maybe.

* * *

><p>This is a short chapter, I know please forgive me! But after all the action filled chapters before this, I thought Larae and the group needed a little bit of a break. And I needed this to get to the next part of the story. And I wanted to use this chapter as like, I don't know, an add on to the mid-season premier excitement?<p>

But can we just talk about that mid-season premier? All the ideas running through my head for the second season~! I can't wait to get there. But I promise, this point in the story won't disappoint!

Leave a review! Let me know what you think! They keep me super motivated!

Thank you to **Tex Shadows**, **85**, **Alina Maxwell** and **Sierra** for reviewing!


	22. When It Rains

"I can't believe he showed them those damn pictures," Daryl cursed as he shut the door behind him after his shower.

"It's my dad," I smiled, sitting on the bed with my legs crossed. "You expected him to not give you any shit?"

He scoffed and laid back on the bed, his hands behind his head, his legs crossing at the ankles. He was still shirtless from his shower, only wearing jeans that I had washed earlier. He closed his eyes with an irritable sigh. I paused on his face for a moment, before my eyes started to wander. My gaze traveled to his arms, which were sculpted from years of hard labor, to his chest and stomach which wasn't overly muscley, but just enough to where there was some definition, which was completely fine by me. His jeans weren't cinched with his belt, and due to the lack of abundance of food, all of us had dropped some weight, which caused his jeans to fall below his hip bones.

"Whut're ya lookin' at?" he asked.

My eyes snapped up to his, a blush invading my cheeks as I saw his knowing smirk.

"N-nothing," I stuttered, turning my face away.

I felt him sit up, his breath on my neck, which was still wet from my hair from when I had taken a shower. Goose bumps perked up on my skin as his lips brushed my ear. "Why are you embarrased?"

"Oh my god Daryl," I blushed and pushed him away by his shoulder. "Leave me alone." I gave him a small smile to show that I wasn't being harsh.

He leaned forward again and kissed my cheek below my eye. "Ya ain't gotta be shy," he said laying back on the bed.

I was about to answer when I heard a loud thud in the hallway. "What the hell was that?" I asked, quickly standing and moving to the door. I opened the door and saw my dad sitting on the stairs, making a weak attempt to grab the guard rail. When he saw me, he sighed and let his hand fall weakly next to him.

"Dad? Are you okay?" I rushed to his side. I heard Daryl behind me, and saw him linger at the top of the stair well.

"I just..I was trying to get up the stairs and my body just went weak," he said, smiling softly at me. "It hasn't gotten any better since you've been gone. Gotten worse actually."

I pursed my lips and brought his arm over my shoulder. I found my footing and stood, bringing me up with me, and my other arm around his waist. He leaned his weight against me, his legs not able to support his weight. I stepped up the last few steps, my dad barely able to help me. Once I got to the top of the steps, Daryl stopped me.

"Let me get 'im. I'm closer to his height," he said, moving to his other side.

I looked at my dad in question. He nodded weakly, and gave me a small smile. I felt Daryl's arm wrap around mine to my dad's other side. I slipped out from under him and walked down the hallway to open his door. Daryl led him inside his room and gently sat him down on the bed. My dad let out a sigh, and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands dangling weakly.

"My body is just giving up on me," he laughed weakly.

"You'll be okay, Dad," I said, sitting next to him. Daryl stood back and watched us.

"No, Larae. These last two days is the longest I've gone without an episode. I was getting four or five a day. They're getting more frequent and lasting longer." I chewed on my lip as I watched him talk, his head hung. This was so unlike my dad. My dad was always the half glass full kind of man, always positive, always faithful in God, always hopeful. "I prayed to God to take whatever this is away from me, especially in these times. And I thought he finally had. But I guess not."

I sat in silence next to him. I wasn't sure what to say. I turned to Daryl. "You can go ahead and go back to my room. I'll be in there in a few minutes."

Daryl looked between the two of us, chewing the inner side of his lip. He gave a small nod and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Rick and Shane were talking about Fort Benning today," my dad said after a few minutes. "Those two and Dale had the map out trying to figure the fastest route." he stopped with a sigh.

"Yeah?" I pressed.

"If they leave..If you leave, I wouldn't go with you, Rae. I couldn't. Not like this. All it would take was one episode of this while we were swarmed like your first camp was, or while a heard was passing, and I would be done for." He lifted his hand, finally regaining some strength and ran his fingers through his hair. "I couldn't do that to you."

I grabbed his hand and held it in mine. He squeezed my hand and gave me a sad smile. "It's okay," I said after a few moments of silence. "If you stay, I'm staying. And I'm sure if I stayed, Daryl would too."

"No," he said firmly and shaking his head. "You have to go with them. Find a place safe to be, away from all this. Find other people. Start over."

"Not without you," I said, looking him directly in the eye. "I'm not going to just leave you here by yourself, and have to wonder day by day if you're dead, alive, or one of those things." He didn't answer. I stood from the bed. "Get some sleep Dad. You're just tired."

He nodded and I walked towards the door. I paused in the door way and looked back at him. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Rae," he said, smiling. I returned it and closed the door quietly behind me. I tiptoed down the hallway to my room, where Daryl was laying on my bed, clad in only his boxers, and Jake at his side. I shut the door behind me and crawled into bed next to him. I rested my head on his chest, my arm wrapping around him, and finding Jake's fur which I buried my fingers in.

"Whut was that?" Daryl asked, quietly into the dark.

"He's sick. That's why I came back," I answered. "His body is just..I don't know. His muscles just stop working and get weak. He can't even support himself when it happens. He just falls, and without help, he can't get back up until it passes. Sometimes he loses consciousness. Scared the shit out of me when that first happened. Sometimes he can't breath. We don't know what it is."

"That's why ya were at the hospital," he concluded.

"Yeah. That was the fifth time we had been in a week. Each time, they put him through tests, which came back negative. CAT scans, MRI's, reflex tests, blood tests, immune tests, everything. It's like his body is just shutting down for no reason." I paused and stared hard at the door. "If we left, he wouldn't go with us. He just told me that."

"Whut would you do?"

I tilted my head back to look at him. "I would stay."

He nodded. "Figured," he grunted. I rested my head back on his chest.

"Would you go with them?" I asked quietly into the darkness. He didn't answer me right away, and I didn't want him to. I wanted him to make sure that he wanted to stay here, instead of leaving to hopefully find a safe haven with the only known survivors we've found since Atlanta.

"I think it'd be safer t' stay with the group," he answered finally. I took a deep breath to sigh. "Let me finish.

But I ain't goin' no where without ya. So I'd stay here with ya."

I smiled and nuzzled my head into his chest. His fingers found themselves in the ends of my hair. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of his scent. We laid there in silence, until I had fallen asleep.

* * *

><p>"I guess it's settled then." Rick said, looking down at the map on the kitchen table. "We leave in two days, and take this route," he continued, running his finger along one of the roads.<p>

I was leaning on the door way, watching as Rick, Shane and Dale discussed the route. I looked over to my dad who was standing at the kitchen counter. We locked eyes and he smiled a little and lowered his eyes to the ground, his brow drawn. I looked back to the three men.

"My dad, Daryl and I aren't going," I said, causing them to jump a little.

"What? Why?" Rick asked, surprised.

My eyes moved to my dad again. "We talked about it. My dad doesn't want to leave. I won't leave without him. Daryl won't leave without me."

"Do you realize what you're doing?" Dale asked, stepping forward.

"You're going," my dad said, locking eyes with me. "You and Daryl both."

"I told you no. Not without you. I'm not leaving you behind." I stood firm where I was standing. My dad started to answer, when he got a far away look on his face. I noticed his hands started to tremble. "Dad?" His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his body collapsed, his head slamming on the corner of the counter. "Dad!" I exclaimed, rushing forward as he landed on the ground with a thud, a bleeding cut on his forehead. "What the hell are you staring for?" I yelled at the three over my shoulder. "Help me get him to the couch!"

Shane and Rick were at his side in an instant. They both lifted him, supporting him on each side. They took him into the living room as I grabbed a hand towel and ran it under cool water. I squeezed some of the water out and followed them quickly into the living room where they stood away from him. I pressed the rag to his forehead, wiping away the blood that had trickled down his face.

"This is why I can't go," I said quietly, turning to them, after a few moments of them watching me. "This is why he won't go. That night at camp, when I told you he was sick, this is what I meant. His body is shutting down. He wouldn't be able to make it. I won't leave him here alone." I turned back to my dad, to see him staring up at me. "You hit your head," I said, when his hand weakly lifted to the rag I was holding to his head. He didn't say anything as his hand dropped back to his side. I heard the three behind me leave the room quietly. "Still weak?"

"Yeah," he said quietly. He paused. "You have to go with them, Larae. You have to find other people."

"I don't need other people," I said firmly. "I have you and Daryl. That's all I need, Dad."

"What's it going to take to convince you to go?" he asked, his lips pursed.

"I'm not leaving you here, knowing you're alive."

"So I would have to be dead?" he asked, his hand lifting again with more strength and taking the towel from my hands and holding it to his own head.

I paused at his blunt question, as he sat up, regaining his strength. "Yeah." I answered finally.

He didn't answer me as he sat back in the chair. I heard the backdoor slide open from the kitchen. I turned my eyes to the doorway, as Daryl pulled his crossbow off of his back. He glanced at my dad.

"Whut happened?"

"Hit my head," my dad said, smiling a twinkle in his eye. "Larae had to get it from someone, you know?"

* * *

><p>Sorry sorry sorry about the lack of updating! I've got a lot of stuff going on, and it's been hard to find time to write.<p>

But I thought I should let everyone know, that if everything goes according to plan, I'm going to be moving out of my house on the 27th. I don't know how often I'm going to have internet access until I can find out if I can afford it. But, if it comes down to it, I'll take my laptop or flashdrive to my fiance's house to update, so have no fear! It just might be a little while inbetween updates, because I work 50-60 hours a week.

Thank you to **85**, **Alina Maxwell**, and **BelmontCalyx** for reviewing!

And to BelmontCalyx, I promise that chat is coming! I have it all planned out in my head of how it's gonna go, and where it's gonna take place! I just have to complicate things just a little bit more for the two lovebirds! :) But I promise, it is coming!

Please review! It means alot!


	23. It Pours

"I'm just worried," I said, sitting next to Daryl under a tree in the back yard. "What kind of question is that? 'So I would have to be dead?'"

"I don't think he'd do anythin' stupid, Rae," Daryl answered, his eyes lifting from the arrows he was cleaning to glance at me. "He's smarter than that."

I didn't answer as I pulled my knees up to my chin. I chewed the corner of my lip as I turned his words over in my head. "So I would have to be dead?" What the hell did that mean? What was he going to do?

"If ya stare at the ground any harder, yer gonna set it on fire," Daryl grumbled. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. As I dropped my hand, a ball bounced into my lap. I picked up the ball as Jake came charging towards me. He slid to a stop next to me, panting in my face and eyeing the ball. I smiled at him and tossed the ball to my other hand. He snapped for it, but I held it out of his reach across Daryl. Jake stood over me, reaching for the ball. I giggled and threw the ball back to Carl and Sophia. Jake bolted after it.

I smiled as I watched them and leaned back against the tree. The sun continued to bear down on the yard, the shade providing little relief from it's rays. I could see clouds on the other side of the house, that were large and puffy like cotton balls. The shadows of the clouds were a dark menacing gray. I could hear the thunder rolling over the trees and houses.

Daryl and I sat in silence for a while. I couldn't measure the time. It was peaceful, to just sit and watch the clouds grow larger as they crept closer.

"Sophia! Carl! Come inside before the rain hits!" Carol called out to the two children still laughing with Jake. They nodded and ran inside. Jake stopped to stare at me and Daryl, but followed after the two when they called him.

"Prolly should head in," Daryl said, standing slowly, picking up his arrows.

"I'm gonna stay out a little longer," I said, smiling up at him. "I'll come inside when it starts raining. Promise."

He nodded. "Got yer gun?"

I shook my head. "It's upstairs."

He rolled his eyes and pulled his knife out of its sheath and handed it to me. "Jus' in case."

I placed the knife next to me as he headed for the house. I watched him as he crossed the yard with long strides and take the steps in two steps. He glanced at be over his shoulder before he disappeared in the house. I stretched my legs out in front of me as I rested my head back against the tree. The breeze started to cool as I closed my eyes.

I wonder if this is how Jim felt when we left him underneath the tree on the highway. I took a deep breath, my lungs filling with the cooling air. I wonder how Amy would have liked my house. Or Jacqui. I opened my eyes to look up into the leaves that were rustling with the wind. The clouds were looming closer. I blinked as I felt wetness on my face. I lifted my hand to my cheek to touch the wet spot. It was a rain drop.

As a few moments passed, the rain started to fall harder, the sun still shining brightly, making the rain look like glitter falling. I stood slowly from where I was standing, watching the rain.

"_Momma?" I asked standing at the front door, the screen door the only thing blocking me from the porch. "What's happening? It's not dark out. How is it raining?"_

_My mom came to stand behind me, her hand resting in my hair. "It's pretty isn't it?" she asked, smiling when I looked up at her._

"_Yeah. But why is it doing that?"_

"_It's called 'heavens rain'," she said, kneeling to my height._

"'_Heavens rain'?" I asked, staring out into the glittering rain. "Why?"_

"_Because the rain is coming from heaven. My grandma used to always tell me that it was because I had someone who was in heaven that missed me, and that this is how they showed that they missed me and loved me. And that this is how they would show me they were watching out for me, to make sure I was safe."_

"_Grandpa is in heaven. Do you think it's Grandpa?" I asked, looking up to her._

_She smiled at me. "I think so."_

"_Can I go outside and play in it?"_

"_I think he would like that."_

I stepped out from under the leaves of the tree, into the rain. I lifted my eyes to the sky, the rain, drenching me after just a few seconds. It was warm, and felt softly onto my skin as I moved further into the yard. I smiled as the rain fell harder, my hair matting to my skin. I lifted my hands out in front of me, and smiled at the raindrops falling into my palms.

"Rae!" Daryl called out to me. "Th' hell are ya doin'?" I lifted my eyes to him as he stood on the porch, his arms crossed. I walked over to him, and reached out my hand.

"Come on," I urged with a smile. "Trust me."

He looked at me like I had grown two heads. "Yer shittin' me."

I laughed and stepped back away from him and back into the yard. I twirled in the rain, the thunder rolling. Before I knew it, the sky grew gray and lightning was flashing across it. I shivered as the rain grew cold, and jogged up the steps to the porch. Daryl shook his head and led me inside.

"Stay here," he ordered, disappearing into the house. I stood inside, next to the back door as my dad rounded the corner into the kitchen. He quirked an eyebrow at me, his eyes twinkling.

"You look like a drowned cat," he chucked.

I smiled. "Heavens rain."

His face softened into a small smile as Daryl came back with a towel. I took it from him and wrapped it around my shoulders. I shivered causing droplets of water to fall to the tiled floor. I grinned brightly at my dad as he shook his head with a small laugh.

* * *

><p>"Goodnight," Rick said quietly, walking up the stairs. Everyone had turned in for the night, except Rick, my dad, and me, and Rick had just politely dismissed himself for the night. I stretched with a yawn as my dad stood.<p>

"We should get to bed, too. Gotta help them get ready to leave in the morning," he said, quietly. The door to the basement was open, so at least some of us could hear what was going on, on this floor. I nodded and followed him up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, he stopped me and pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged him back, slightly confused when he didn't let go. "Dad?" I whispered. I didn't want to wake anyone.

"I love you, Larae. I hope you always know that," he said, into my hair. "I love you, babygirl."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I love you, too, Dad." He planted a firm kiss on the top of my head. He squeezed me again for a few long moments when he held me at arms length.

"Goodnight, babygirl."

"'Night, Dad," I said, watching him disappear into his room. I stood in the hallway, staring at his door oddly. What the hell was that? I chewed on my lip as I turned to my room. Daryl was sound asleep, Jake's head resting on his stomach. I kicked my jeans off and crawled into bed next to him. I turned to my side and pressed my back into his side as I stared hard at my wall. What was going on?

* * *

><p>"Morning," I said, walking into the kitchen. I glanced around the kitchen as everyone echoed my greeting. All faces were accounted for, including Jake who was staring intently at the pan that Carol was standing at, except for one. "Where's my dad?" I asked.<p>

"Haven't seen him all morning," Shane said. "Figured he was still asleep."

I pursed my lips. My dad never spelt in. I disappeared out of the kitchen as they started talking and laughing. I walked up the stairs, taking two at a time. I crossed the hall to my dads room. The door was still shut. I knocked on it. "Dad?" I called. "Dad? Are you in there?" No answer. I pursed my lips and felt my heart race. I pushed open the door slowly. "Dad?" The room was empty, with no light except the light coming from the bathroom door which was open just a few inches. I felt my vision blur. I squinted and concentrated on the door in front of me. I couldn't have a flashback right now. It was probably nothing. He was probably shaving and didn't hear me.

"Dad?" I asked, crossing the room slowly. I swallowed as I got to the door. I squeezed my eyes as I felt the world spin around me, and grabbed the door handle for support. I forced my eyes open and pushed the door open. I felt my heart drop as I saw my dad on the bathroom floor, vomit next to his face, skin pale, lips blue and glazed eyes, with an open bottle of pills next to him. "Dad!" I exclaimed rushing forward.

I moved to his other side and rolled him over quickly. I grabbed for his wrist and was too shaken to find a pulse. I felt my vison blur again. I shook my head violently, tears streaming down my face, a sob wracking my body. I felt his neck. No pulse.

"No," I choked out. "No. Daddy. No. Why?"

I sat and cried for what felt like an eternity, but it was only a few minutes. I knew I should call for Daryl, or someone. But I couldn't I didn't have it in me. Everything inside of me just broke, seeing my dad lay there in a pile of his own vomit. All the hope that I had built up in me, shattered. I had found my dad, alive. And now my dad was dead. He had killed himself. Just like my mom had. He left me here, to face this new, dead world. He had opted out.

He was gone. Just like Jenner had said. All those pretty blue lights, were gone. Just darkness sat in him now. Those pretty blue lights that twinkled just like his eyes when he smiled, were gone. Everything he was. Everything he would be. Gone. Forever.

I felt broken, sitting there, crying over his body. Helpless. Worthless. Nothing I could do could bring him back. Nothing. If I had just followed him into his room last night, if I had just not answered his question. He wouldn't be here like this. He wouldn't have left me. All I had now was Daryl. But how much longer would that be before he was taken away from me, too? In this new world, life was only minutes, hours, maybe days. How much longer would it be before I was completely alone, with no one? It felt like I was now, sitting there on the bathroom floor, clutching at my hair, sobs wracking at my body, hurting my heart even more. I couldn't breath, I couldn't see past the tears, I couldn't move. I could only sit there and cry over the dead body lain in front of me.

"Daddy," I sobbed. "Please. Come back. God, don't do this to me. Lord, please, even if this is the last thing I ask for. Please, don't do this to me. Don't take him from me. Please. God, please," I begged, squeezing my eyes shut. "Please."

As if it was a miracle, his chest began to rise and fall.

"Dad? Dad, can you hear me?" His eyes started to move, as I took his hand in mine. I smiled down at him, tears still staining my face. "You're okay." He started to growl. My smile fell as he reached up slowly, grabbing a fist full of my hair. "No," I said, trying to push him away. "Oh god. No.." He sat up and tried to pull me closer my by hair and snap at my face. "DARYL!" I screamed. "SOMEONE!"

I scrambled to get away from him, kicking him away. I stumbled away from him and back against the wall. I tried to move around him, but tripped, landing with a hard thud on the ground. My vision blurred.

_Blood. So much blood. How could there_- "NO!" I screamed, trying to kick him away. "Not now! No! HELP!" I screamed louder, as loud foot steps came from the stairs.

_Staining the cream colored walls, and smeared on the curtains and mirror. _

"Larae?" Daryl nearly shouted appearing in the doorway, a gun in hand.

"Shoot him!" I screamed, trying to push and kick him away from me, him grabbing at my arms, trying to bite me. "He's dead! He's a walker! Shoot hi-" a loud bang echoed in the bathroom, causing my ears to ring. Almost in slow motion, blood splattered all over me, a hole appearing in my dads head. My dad fell limp, my arms going weak. I couldn't hold him up as he fell ontop of me. I struggled out from under him, crying, as I took in the scene infront of me.

_There was blood. So much blood. It was everywhere, smeared on the counter and tile, staining and cream curtains with crimson as vibrant as sin. How could there be so much blood? _

I tried to wipe the blood off of my face as Daryl tried to lift me from the floor, a commotion behind him somewhere in my dads room.

_The mirror was smeared with it, the toilet was covered in hand prints and smears, the walls, everywhere._

Daryl pulled me to my feet, and yet I was still frozen where I stood.

_I was frozen where I was, eye wide to the scene in front of me. Then my feet took me forward, even though I willed them to turn around, and leave the bathroom, and call the police._

"No, baby," Daryl said, pulling me back. "C'mon." He gently took me by the shoulders and led me out of the bathroom. I didn't know if I was crying anymore. I didn't know if I was _feeling_ anymore. I completely zoned out and, suddenly I found myself sitting on the steps in the middle of the stair case, Daryl kneeling in front of me.

"Larae? C'mon, Rae. Stay with me," his hand reached up to my cheek. "Don't leave me. Stay with me, okay? Don't go away. Just stay with me, baby."

I blinked slowly, still unsure if I was crying. My vision blurred over._ Blood. So much-_ "Larae, baby, please. Stay with me. Just stay with me, okay?"

I felt a hard sob hit me. I reached out for Daryl and sobbed loudly into his neck, my arms wrapping around him tightly. "God, why?" I asked, my voice croaked. "Why?"

Daryl didn't answer as he hugged me back, letting me sob into his shirt.

* * *

><p>Oh man, this was a hard chapter to write. I did this all through one sitting, though I kept tearing up through it. I had this whole chapter planned from the very beginning, so Larae's dad really never had a chance of surviving, no matter how sad that it.<p>

I decided to go ahead and publish this so soon, because of all the awesome feedback I got from you guys! I got the most amount of reviews I've ever gotten from a chapter, and it really motivated me to know that more than just two or three people were still interested in the story.

Thank you to **littlemija69, 85,BelmontCalyx, Dalonega Noquisi, Alina Maxwell, **and **RWolfe94** for your awesome reviews! They really do mean alot to me! :)

I hope this chapter pleased just as much as the last one! Leave a review and let me know! They're super appreciated!

I really hope that this chapter pleased as much as the last one!


	24. Let It Go

**Daryl**

"How is she?" Andrea asked as he descended down the stairs.

"In shock," he grumbled walking to the kitchen to get her water. "Ain't really respondin'." He grabbed a cup from the cupboards and filled it with water. He walked back to the stairs. "I gotta stay with her, and make sure she don't do anythin' stupid. Could ya..?" he trailed off, not really sure how to ask the question.

"Where would she want the grave?" Rick asked, understanding what he was asking.

"Under that tree."

"We'll come and get you two when we're ready."

He nodded and took the stairs two at a time. Jake met him at the door, whining to be let in. He opened the door, and the dog jumped up on the bed and whimpered when Larae didn't move for him. He settled for laying down behind her, his head resting on her side. She was curled on her left side, facing towards the window, staring out at the dark grey clouds that never disappeared from yesterdays rain.

Daryl sat the water next to her and sat on the end of the bed. She took no notice of him being there.

"Rae," he said quietly. "Ya gotta give me somethin'. Ya gotta let me know if yer still there."

He waited a few moments and watched as her eyes turned towards him. She turned her head to look at him. She looked him over for a moment, and blinked slowly.

"I don't know what to feel, Daryl," she said quietly, her voice cracking. "I'm lost."

He was lost too. He didn't know what to do for her. All those years ago, all he was able to do was sit there and let her cry on his shoulder. Her dad got there and took over, along with the local police. He raked a hand through his hair and stood off of the bed. He moved to the head of the bed.

"Sit up," he said. She sat up just slightly enough for him to sit down. He pulled her up to him, her weight fully resting against him, her head on his chest. She didn't try to fight him, or pull away. She wrapped her arm around his stomach and continued to stare out the window.

They sat there in silence for an hour. He didn't know what to say, so he would just be there for her for when she wanted to talk. He didn't want to push her and cause her to go into shock again. A knock on the door pulled his attention out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"The grave is ready," Rick said from behind the door. "Whenever she is."

"Alrigh'. Give us a few."

He listened as Ricks foot steps faded away down the stairs. Larae sniffed in his arms, and pushed off of his chest into a sitting position. She pawed at her eyes and stood from the bed. Daryl stood with her and she tucked herself under his arm. Jake followed them out of the room, his tail not wagging for the one time in his life. It was almost as if he knew.

Daryl led her down the steps slowly, where the camp was waiting silently, even the two children. She hid her face in his shirt when she saw the stares. He pushed passed the group and out to the yard, where T-dog, Shane, and Rick were waiting, the body of Ethan wrapped in a white sheet.

He heard her choke on a deep breath. She pushed away from him and slowly walked to the body.

"Rae," he said in a low tone. She motioned him off and knelt next to the body. She pulled the sheet back just far enough to expose his hand. She took a deep, shaky breath and pulled the silver wedding band off of his left ring finger, and unhook the silver watch that he always wore. She replaced the sheet and retreated back to under his arm, where she clutched the two items tight to her chest.

Daryl gave a nod when they looked towards him in question. T-dog and Shane lowered the body into the makeshift grave at the base of the large silver maple tree. He felt Larae shiver under his arm and he held her closer to him. He glanced down at her. She was staring blankly at the three filling the grave once again with dirt.

Her eyes were glazed, and unseeing towards the scene infront of them. He gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. She blinked, her eyes losing the glaze and focused on the grave being filled. She bit her lip and turned her head away.

"I can't," she said quietly. "I just..I can't." She pushed out from under his arm. "Finish burying him," she said barely and louder. "I just..I need a few minutes to myself." She turned away, wrapping her arms around herself and walked back to the house quickly, with her head down. He reached back to touch the gun that he had taken from her room while she wasn't looking to make sure she hadn't snagged it when he wasn't paying attention. The gun was still in the waist band of his jeans, and he turned back to the grave.

* * *

><p><strong>Larae<strong>

I stood infront of the mirror, looking at myself. Daryl had helped me clean off in the kitchen while I was in hysterics, and after telling someone to turn the fuck around, pulled my blood splattered shirt off and given me his. But looking at myself in the mirror, I still saw the blood. No matter how much I rubbed at it or tried to clean it off, it wouldn't leave my skin. I pressed the palms of my hands into my eyes and took a deep shaky breath. I ran my hands down my face. The blood was gone. I blinked. The blood was back.

I pushed away from the mirror and turned on the shower. Steam filled the bathroom in a matter of minutes before I stripped down and stood under the scalding water. It stung like hell, but I needed to feel something. It was almost if my emotions had just shut down. I wasn't sad, or angry. I wasn't heartbroken or worn out. Or worried or confused. I was just..nothing. I didn't feel anything.

But it was like the hot water burned away the shell that surrounded me. The more and more I thought about my dad, the more and more helpless I felt. He was gone. And he wasn't coming back. Neither was my mom. Or Amy. Or Jim. Or Jacqui. They were dead. And I was falling apart.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold myself together as I slid to the bottom of the shower, under the spray of the unforgiving hot water. My heart hurt with every beat, with tears welling up in my eyes. Was it really so easy to take your own life? My mom had done it. Jim had just..given up. Jacqui did it. And now my dad. Was it really so simple? Even with people who were still alive, and loved you?

Though how much time did any of us really have? Not a lot. It was only a matter of days, probably. If we were lucky, weeks. Who would be next? I don't think I could loose anyone else. Especially if it was Daryl. I couldn't handle that. I knew I couldn't. I couldn't handle that heartbreak.

I couldn't handle this. The fear of losing everyone on top of already losing people that meant so much to me. Most of them, taking their own lives. Leaving all of us in this world because it was just so easy to take their own lives. Maybe that was the answer to all of this. Maybe Jenner was right. Maybe we should have stayed in that building with Jacqui and just watched the timer count down. Maybe it was really that simple to just..let go.

I turned the shower off and barely dried off before I pulled my clothes back on. I walked to my bedroom, and went to my desk. My gun was gone. I looked underneath the desk, around it, on my dresser and night stand. It was gone. Daryl must have taken it. I swallowed back my nervousness as I tiptoed across the hallway to my dad's room. My dad always had a gun stashed in his night stand under a bunch of miscellaneous papers and things. I pulled it open, and quickly found it. My hands were shaking as I checked to see if it was loaded. A full clip.

I sat on the bed for a moment, staring down at the gun, my hands shaking the entire time. Maybe my entire body was shaking. I wasn't sure, as I stared down at the silver gun in my hands. I pursed my lips as I stood from the bed and walked back out to the hallway. I couldn't do this in the house. Not when my mom and dad already had. I quietly walked down the steps and could hear voices in the kitchen.

* * *

><p><strong>Daryl<strong>

"Did someone just go outside?" Lori asked.

Daryl stood quickly and rushed over to the door. Larae was walking down the steps her hair soaking the shirt he had given her. She had something clenched in her hand as she came to a stop in the yard. He could see her entire small frame shaking. He stepped out onto the porch, about to call out to her when he saw her lift whatever it was clenched in her hand to her temple.

It was a gun.

"LARAE! NO!" he yelled, rushing forward. It was almost as if it was slow motion, he saw her pull the trigger. He heard the click of the gun, or maybe it was a bang. He didn't care at that point, when he saw her fall forward, the gun landing in the grass.

Everything was silent.

* * *

><p>Yes, it's shorter than usual! Please forgive me!<p>

I know that all of you saw Ethan's suicide coming, and I had that planned, so that it was obvious, because I didn't want this to be obvious! I hope it pleased!

I had to hurry and get this one up and posted because of all the wonderful feed back I got from everyone! Thankyou so much for all of your reviews! I really don't think I've ever gotten such a great response since I started this story!

Thank you to **LadyLecter47, melody . taylor85**(hopefully it typed out right this time)**, BelmontCalyx, Dalonega Noquisi, littlemija69, Alina Maxwell, Allimba, **and** HeavenlyCondemned **for all of your wonderful reviews! They make me smile, and keep me super motivated!

Please review! They mean alot! :)


	25. With It All Behind

**Larae**

It jammed. The gun jammed.

I stared down at the gun infront of me where it had fallen, with wide eyes. It was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to be so easy. I had heard Daryl yell, and I still pulled the trigger. The last thought that I had before I pulled the trigger was _I'm sorry, Daryl. I love you._

Daryl yanked me up by my arm and spun me around.

"Whut the fuck were ya thinking?" He bellowed. I could see the rage pouring off of him. "Whut were ya thinkin', Larae?"

"I thought it would be easy," I said, barely finding my voice, as tears welled up in my eyes. "They made it seem so easy."

I could see the rage grow in his eyes. "Ya thought it would be easy? Killin' yerself would be easy!" He snatched his hands away from me and grabbed for the gun in the grass. In the blink of an eye he cleared the gun of the jam, and shoved it towards me. "Well if it's so fuckin' easy, do it! There's the gun, I cleared if for you! Go on!"

I held the gun in my hand but didn't moved my eyes from Daryl, who was breathing hard and glaring at me with more anger than he ever had before. I dropped the gun back to the grass. I wrapped my arms around myself as he continued to yell. "Whut? Can't do it now that I'm right here in front of ya?"

"No," I answered quietly. He grabbed the gun from the ground and started to storm off. I looked towards the house, and I knew we were being watched. I turned my eyes back to Daryl. "Daryl," I said loud enough for him to hear. He stopped, not turning towards me. His shoulders were stiff. "I..I'm sorry."

He whirled around, rage written on his face. He stormed up to me, only a few inches away from touching me. I couldn't meet his eyes. I stared straight ahead to his chest. I could almost taste the anger he was feeling.

"If ya were fuckin' sorry, ya wouldn't have tried," he spat. "Ya can't jus' fuckin' do tha'!" he continued, his voice growing louder in volume, and his accent getting thicker. "Ya can't jus' opt out like tha' on me! Or did ya even think 'bout tha'! Yea, I git it, yer sad, but goddammit, Rae, ya can't jus' do tha'!" He turned around again to walk away but I reached out for him. I grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back to face me. While he was still caught off guard, I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his chest. He didn't try to pull away, but he didn't hug me back. He stood there, his breathing still hard and labored. I could feel how tense he was. He froze at my touch, but I didn't let go. He stood there for a few moments letting me just hug him. Finally he pulled away. "Go pack. We're leaving tomorrow," he said, stiffly. His voice wasn't as harsh, but I knew he was still angry.

He stomped off towards the woods, the gun still in his hand. I could see my gun in his belt. I stood there for a few seconds, watching him disappear into the woods. I felt alone standing there. I knew I fucked up. I knew I shouldn't have been so selfish. I wrapped my arms around myself and slowly walked back to the house. I opened the door to be met with eyes. I his my face with my still wet hair and went up the stairs.

I got to my room with Jake at my heels and closed the door behind me. Jake hopped up on the bed and I sat with my back to the head board. I brought my knees up to my chest, and wrapped my arms around them. I rested my forehead on my knees. I sighed as I felt tears prick at my eyes again.

I lost my dad, and I may now have just lost Daryl, because I was fucking stupid.

* * *

><p>I couldn't bring myself to go downstairs, so I went without eating. No one came up to bother me, and I was thankful for that. I wouldn't be able to look anyone in the eye, let alone have a conversation. I laid in bed, sleep just moments away. I was exhausted after today. As I started to drift to sleep, I heard the door open. I kept my eyes closed as I heard Daryl move around. I heard him set his crossbow down, pull his shirt off and throw it towards his stuff that I had packed for him. I heard him move around for a few more seconds before he slid into the bed next to me. I opened my eyes. He laid with his back away from me as far away as he could.<p>

I bit my lip and closed in the space between us. I didn't put my arms around him. I just simply curled up into his back and rested my forehead on the back of his shoulder. "I'm sorry," I said so quietly, I wasn't sure he heard me. I chewed my lip as he turned to face me. I could still see some anger in his eyes from the way his brow was set into a scowl. I lowered my eyes from him.

"Look at me." I lifted my eyes again. "Yer fuckin' stupid for pullin' that shit," he said, his hand on my face. "If that gun hadn't jammed.." he trailed off, his words dying on his lips. "If it hadn't of jammed, I dunno whut I woulda done."

"Buried me?" He didn't answer at first. His thumb rubbed my cheek. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Don't make me bury ya for somethin' ya caused."

I opened my eyes. "I promise I won't. I just..I lost myself for a little while." He didn't answer me, so I continued. "Do you forgive me?"

"No," he grunted simply. I sighed and bit my lip. "I'll get there," he added.

I nodded. That was better than not talking to me. I tucked my head under his. He must have showered at some point, because he didn't smell like dirt and sweat. I closed my eyes and curled closer to him. I could hear his breathing get deeper as we laid there in silence.

"Hey Daryl?" I said quietly.

"Hm?" he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.

"I love you."

I wasn't expecting him to answer me. I just needed to say it. If that gun hadn't jammed, the last thought I ever would have had was telling Daryl I loved him. And after all this time, I knew I really did, even if he didn't feel the same way. If something happened to him and I hadn't said it, I knew I would regret it.

"I love ya too, Rae."

* * *

><p>I had packed a few sets of extra clothes. Three extra pairs of jeans, a few extra tanktops, and shirts and two or three warmer shirts for winter. I also grabbed two extra sweaters and a jacket, and an extra pair of boots, but I loaded up on underwear. I wish I could have taken more with me, but I could only bring what I could carry in my duffel bag. I had also given the other women extra clothes that were too big for me that people had given me over the years, so they would have some extra clean clothes.<p>

Doing one last sweep through of the house, I stopped by my dad's room, where the bathroom door was shut tight. I grabbed two picture frames. One of me and Daryl when I was sixteen and he was twenty, sitting on the tailgate of his truck on a summer day, and the other of me, my mom and my dad. I took the pictures out of the frames and tucked them into my bag. I moved over to the jewelry box that my mom had and my dad could never get rid of and sifted through it to find and empty chain, and my moms wedding band and engagement ring.

I put the two rings on the chain along with my dads wedding band and clipped the necklace on. I made one last stop to my room to grab my keys. When I went downstairs, it was Daryl who was waiting for me. I had asked him to make sure all the windows and doors were locked. Silly, I know, but it was something to make sure that the memories here were preserved. I gave him a small smile, and we stepped out to the porch. I locked the door behind us.

Jake sat on the porch waiting for us. He wagged his tail happily as I patted him on the head. There was little argument that Jake would be coming with us. He didn't bark, unless there was immediate danger. He was a hunting dog, that's how he was trained.

We made our way to the truck, and I tossed my stuff into the bed and climbed in, Jake jumping in behind me. We took all the spare fuel for the generator and filled up the cars, and had an abundance left to get us at least halfway to Fort Benning. Everyone had also cleaned out the pantry for canned food and nonperishable items.

Daryl was taking the motorcycle, leaving me with his truck. He said that the bike was causing the trucks gas mileage to suck all the gas up. But, he didn't want to leave the bike behind. He said I was the only person he trusted driving the truck.

So with our tanks full, we started the vehicles. Daryl led the chain of vehicles, me behind him and the RV behind me. I watched in the side view mirror as my childhood home slowly disappeared from the horizon. Jake whined and rested his head on my lap. I placed my hand on his head as I leaned back on the bench.

Daryl had told me this morning, that I wasn't allowed to have anything that I could potentially harm myself with, so nothing sharp, and no guns. He said that I just needed to reassure him that I wasn't going to go and off myself the second I got a chance. So for protection, I would just have to stay close to him, or someone armed at camp. I didn't argue with it. I needed to show him that I wasn't going to just snap like that again.

I sighed as my fingers ran themselves through Jakes fur. Jake looked up at me sadly. "I know boy," I said down to him. "I miss him too."

* * *

><p>We were driving for a few hours on open highway. Well, as open as a highway could be in the south with all the trees. I had the windows rolled down and Jake was sleeping on the bench, his head comfortably laying on my leg. I sat against the doorframe, my head propped up with my fist. I wished I had the radio, or someone to talk to. I was beginning to feel my eyelids get heavy from driving for so long.<p>

I let out a yawn and readjusted in the seat to wake myself up. I sat up as I noticed a road block of cars in front of us. "What the hell?" I muttered, slowing down as Daryl disappeared further into the cars. I sat idled as Daryl reappeared through the cars, he gave me a nod and went back to the RV.

"See a way through?" Dale called to him.

Daryl nodded again and gave the motion for me to follow him. I nodded and started to follow the bike through the wrecked cars. Jake was awake now, watching the cars as we passed. It was a grave yard of wrecked cars. Some of them still had people in the cars. I pursed my lips and kept my eyes trained on Daryl and turning the truck through the cars.

I jumped when I heard a pop behind me and then screeching. I stopped the truck when I looked back and saw the RV with steam coming out from the hood. I turned the truck off and climbed out of the truck, silently happy for the chance to stretch my legs. Jake followed behind quickly, tail wagging at the chance to get out of the truck.

"Oh it's just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of no where, with no chance of-" Dale was saying as I walked up to the RV with Daryl who immediately started sifting through one of the cars. "Okay, that was dumb."

"If you can't find a radiator hose here," Shane said, looking around.

"There's a whole bunch a' stuff we could find," Daryl said, pulling a bag out of a car.

"Syphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-dog said, grabbing one of the gas cans out of the bed of Daryl's truck.

"Maybe some water?" Carol said.

"More food," Glenn continued.

I grabbed a bag out of an over turned car as Lori spoke up. "This is a grave yard," she said. I paused, and Daryl and I exchanged looks. "I don't know how I feel about this."

I turned back to the bag with pursed lips as Shane told us to look around. I pulled everything out of the bag only to find clothes. I continued to search through the car to find nothing of importance. I stood up, and saw Daryl waiting for me.

"Stay close," he muttered, moving to look through another car ahead of us. I followed at his heels as Jake followed. I stopped at a car that the back hatch was open. Daryl was at the car next to me. I pulled out a bag and zipped it open.

"Daryl!" I called over to him with a smile. "Look!" It was a bag filled with a dozen or so arrows for a crossbow. I happily walked over to him, proud of my find. I knew he was getting low on arrows, so my find was just going to allow him to use his preferred weapon a little longer. He smiled a little when he saw it. He took them from me and placed them in the holder at the front of his crossbow. He looked up at me to answer when his eyes got wide.

"Get down!" he commanded yanking me to the ground. "Under the truck! Now!"

* * *

><p>Because of that awful cliffhanger, I decided to go ahead and upload. :) That, and yesterday, I got approved for my apartment! So I'm going to try my hardest to get atleast two more chapters out before Monday. I can promise atleast one! I've been trying to get chapters out as fast as I can before I move so I may be forgiven for a short absence. :)<p>

Also, thanks to you guys, this story has gotten over 100 reviews! Thank you guys for being so awesome! Your feedback really does mean alot to me!

Thank you to **LadyLecter47, littlemija69, 85**(I'll go back to calling you 85 then haha)**, JavaNut, Dalonega Noquisi,** **Allimba** and** BelmontCalyx **for your wonderful reviews!

Please review! Let me know what you think, it really does mean alot :)


	26. A Glimmer Of Hope

I immediately rolled under the truck, pulling Jake with me. Something was wrong.

"Down boy," I said, loud enough so Jake knew I wasn't playing. "Stay. Quiet." He knew those commands from hunting with my dad and Daryl. He knew that if he was told be quiet, he didn't make a noise. He rested his head on his paws as Daryl got under a blue work truck and made eye contact with me.

I gave him a questioning look as I felt my heart race.

"Walkers," he mouthed.

I felt my heart rate pick up again. I held Jake closer to me. "Quiet," I said again. Daryl's head snapped to the other side. He looked back at me and held a finger to his lips, and rolled out from under the truck to the other side. I wanted to scream at him to stay put, but feet started to shuffle passed. I bit my tongue as I watched them limp slowly passed. The smell was god awful, almost burning my nose from the smell of decaying flesh and disease. The hot concrete almost burned my skin, even in the shade from under the car. Jake shivered next to me and pressed closer to me. I wrapped my arm around him. Atleast he was scared of the walkers, instead of wanting to attack.

My eyes focused suddenly, on a pair of feet that wasn't dead. I could recognize Daryls boots anywhere. I could see a shuffle with a pair dead feet, then the walker fall to the ground. Then I saw Daryl pull T-dog to the ground and throw a dead body over him, then Daryl drop to the ground with another body on top of himself in just enough time for dead to walk passed.

The feet started to thin out, and after laying there for a while after they stopped, I slowly poked my head out from under the car, to make sure everything was clear. Without a walker in sight, I rushed out from under the car and ran over to Daryl and T-dog. Daryl was helping T-dog up, while having him hold the rag Daryl always had to his arm. I could see blood pouring from his arm.

"What happened?" I asked in a lower tone than usual incase there were any stragglers.

"I-I cut my arm on a car door," T-dog struggled out, his hand only able to weakly hold the rag to his arm.

I shooed his hand away as Daryl helped him to his feet and I held the rag there for him. Slowly, Daryl helped him back to the RV, where everyone else was gathered at the guardrail into the woods. Jake walked passed T-dog, Daryl and I to Carl's side as Lori was holding Carol back.

"Good lord!" Dale exclaimed, being the first to see us. "What happened?"

T-dog explained again what happened as Dale took him from us, and led him to sit in the shade next to the RV.

"Whut's goin' on?" Daryl asked the group at the guard rail.

"Sophia was chased into the woods by two walkers," Glenn said, taking his hat off and running his fingers through his hair. "Rick chased after her."

* * *

><p>"There's no way in hell yer goin'," Daryl said pulling me off to the side from Rick, Shane and Glenn.<p>

"Daryl, I don't need a weapon. I'll be with the four of you. Two set's of eyes that can track are better than one. I'll even bring Jake along." I was trying to rationalize with Daryl to let me go with them into the woods. Daryl and I were the only people who knew how to track. I wasn't as good as Daryl, considering when he did take me hunting it was almost against my will, but some of the things he did teach me stuck. And by the look in his eye, I could tell he wasn't about to agree with me "And," I continued dropping my voice low enough to where only he could hear me. "You, Rick, Shane and I are the only people who would be able to protect against another group of walkers like that. If I'm not allowed to have a gun, and you, Rick and Shane are disappearing into the woods, you really trust Dale enough to keep me safe when he can't see a group of them marching along like that until they're only a hundred feet away?"

He ran his fingers through his hair, and looked at me with squinted eyes. I could tell I had won, when I saw the consideration in his eyes. He knew I had a valid point. "Fine. But I sure as hell don't like it."

I gave his free hand a squeeze. "I'll be fine."

He gave a short nod and turned to the other three. "She's comin' with us. She knows how to track, and Jake's a huntin' dog. Won't make a sound unless we tell 'im." I gave a smug smirk of victory when he turned.

They exchanged looks as Jake stood beside me his tail wagging happily, his tongue loped out to the side. I smiled down at him as they stared off into the woods. "See, I told you that you'd be able to come," I said quietly down to him. He hopped over the railing as I quickly followed after the four men, and catching up beside Daryl.

Rick led us to the creek. Daryl hopped down into the creek after Rick. Rick motioned to a hallowed out area beneath the bank of the creek. "Right here."

Daryl looked around the creek bed, his crossbow ready to fire. He looked into the hallowed out area and glanced back to Rick.

"Ya sure this is the spot?"

"I left her right here," he said firmly. "I drew the walkers off in that direction," he said pointing up stream of the creek. "

Daryl muttered something that I couldn't hear from next to Shane. I chewed the corner of my lip as Daryl took another sweep with his eyes of the creek bed.

"She was gone by the time I got back," Rick said with a sigh. "I figured she just took off and ran back to the group. I told her go that way, and keep the sun on her left shoulder," he continued, point up to where Glenn was standing.

Daryl glanced at the ground. I could tell he picked up a trail as he moved closer to it, his eyes not moving from the ground. "Hey short round, why don't ya step off to one side, yer muckin' up the trail."

"Assuming she know's her left from her right," Shane spoke up.

"Shane, she under stood me fine," Rick said, giving the man a look.

"She's tired and she's scared," I said quietly, giving a reassuring smile to Rick.

"She had a close call with two walkers. You gotta wonder how much of what you said stuck," Shane continued.

"We got clear prints right here," Daryl said his eyes following up the creek bed. "She did like ya said and headed back to the highway." Shane brushed passed me to help the two out of the creek bed. "Let's spread out."

Daryl came up next to me, his eyes not breaking from the trail. I let out a low whistle to Jake and pointed at the ground where I could clearly see prints. Jake's ears perked up as he sniffed the ground. He picked up her scent and started trailing after Daryl. I followed behind.

As we came up the creek bed and moved only about fifty feet away, her trail veered off to the side. Daryl kneeled next to it, chewing his lip. "She was doin' jus' fine 'til right here." I grabbed Jake by the collar so he didn't leave us behind. He looked up at me and gave my hand a lick. My eyes went back to the ground to Sophia's foot prints. "All she had to do was keep goin'. She veered off that way," he said motioning to his right.

"Why would she do that?" Glenn wondered out loud.

"Maybe she saw something. Spooked her. Made her run off?" Shane said, looking back at us.

"Walker?"

"No," I said giving the ground another sweep. "There's only one set of prints. Maybe she heard something."

"So what do we do?" Shane asked. "All of press on?"

"No, better if you and Glenn to get back to the highway. People are going to start panicking," Rick said, looking between the two. I stood next to Daryl, and glanced down at him. His eyes were intent on Sophia's foot prints. He stood and glanced at me. "Let them know we're on her trail and we're doing everything we can, but most of all keep everybody calm."

"I'll keep them busy scavenging and moving cars. I'll come up with a few other chores and keep them occupied. Come on," he said, motioning for Glenn.

Daryl stood from his kneeling position and motioned us to follow. I let go of Jake's collar and followed at Daryl's side, looking for any other foot print's besides Sophia's which could mean a walker. I could see deer tracks, rabbit tracks, raccoon tracks, but only one set of human foot prints in the soft dirt and upturned leaves.

The sun was still unforgiving on our backs through the leaves of the trees. There was no wind, giving us no relief. Jake was sniffing along the ground, following Sophia's foot prints only a few feet in front of us. He knew not to get too far when we were tracking.

I scanned the ground again, but I still only saw Sophia's. I pursed my lips as I glanced through the trees. There was no sign of her except for slowly fading prints. The further and further we tracked along her footprints started to disappear. It would only be a matter of a few hundred more feet before I wouldn't be able to see them anymore, and only Jake and Daryl would be able to track after her, leaving Rick and I to just simply follow behind.

"Her tracks are gone," Rick said with a sigh.

"No," Daryl said quietly. "They're faint, but they ain't gone," he said, his eyes never leaving the barely visible footsteps. "She came through here," he said, motioning between two trees.

"How can you tell?" Rick asked, looking confused. "I don't see anything. Dirt. Grass."

"Ya wanna lesson in trackin', or ya wanna find this girl an' get our ass off that interstate?" Daryl grumbled.

Rick gave Daryl a bland look. I patted his arm. "I'll show you sometime," I said smiling up at him. "Don't take it personally. Daryl get's in a zone, and turns into a dick."

He chuckled and Daryl shot me a glare. I smiled at him, causing him to roll his eyes and go back to tracking the prints in front of him. We were silent for a while after that, as we continued along. After about another two hundred feet, I couldn't see the foot print's anymore.

I was about to let out a sigh when a rustle of leaves, caused us to duck low to the ground. Jake scurried back to me at the sound and our sudden movement. I held my arm around him as Rick stretched his neck up and motion in one direction.

A walker.

Daryl motioned for me to stay put, and for Rick to go one way, while he went another. We both nodded, and they moved silently, circling around the walker. I looked around me keeping an eye out for any others, as Rick whistled at the walker, causing it to let out a horrid noise that almost echoed in the woods. Then a dull thud followed as Daryl shot it through the skull with an arrow. I looked over at him as he motioned me closer.

Rick and Daryl were standing over the walker when I approached slowly. Jake was at my heels, tail down, and ears back. I stood just slightly behind Daryl, weary of the body laying face down in front of us. Jake gave a low growl at it, and stretched his neck out to sniff it. He gave another low growl and made sure to put himself in between us and it. Daryl gave him a pat on the head.

Daryl pulled the arrow out of the walkers head with a sickening slosh with made my stomach dance for a moment. I swallowed it back as he looked out into the woods. "Sophia!" he called. The only response given was the sound of a bird crowing.

I looked at Rick oddly as he pulled out a pair of gloves and pulled them on with a drawn look on his face. He lifted up the hand of the walker and started to look at it's nails.

"What in the lord heavens above name are you doing?" I asked, eye wide at the scene. Daryl moved in for a closer look.

"I'm looking for skin under the fingernails," he said, glancing up at me, as Daryl moved closer. Rick rolled the body over and looked into it's mouth. "It fed recently." I felt dread build up in the pit of my stomach. That wasn't good. The dread quickly turned to nausea as Rick stuck his fingers into the mouth of the walker. "There's flesh caught in it's teeth," he said, his mouth pursed in disgust.

"Yeah, what kinda flesh?" Daryl asked, moving in even closer to look at what Rick pulled out of the walkers mouth. I pressed a hand over my own mouth to hold back a gag. I wanted to scream at them to stop as they looked at the piece of now dead skin covered in blackened blood.

"Only one way to know for sure," Rick said slowly, and pulling out his knife. I watched as he ripped open the shirt to the walker and poised his knife to lodge into the abdomen.

"You are not seriously about to do what I think your about to do," I said, Jake sitting at my feet.

They ignored me as Daryl stopped Rick. "Here. I'll do it. How many kills ya skinned and gutted in yer life anyway?" He stood over the walker, his knife in both hands. "Mines sharper." I gagged when he imbedded the knife into the abdomen of the walker and started to slice down. My stomach was doing flips as he tore open the dead, decaying flesh, letting out one of the worst scents I had ever smelled. It smelled like infection, pus, diseased eaten flesh, mold and rot.

"I'm going to be sick," I said, covering my eyes as Daryl pulled the knife out to stab it again. The sound of the rotting flesh being sliced apart was still enough to make my stomach flip and want to turn inside out. I didn't know how Rick was able to sit there, right next to it, and watch.

"Here comes the bad part," Daryl grumbled. I looked up through my fingers and saw him reach into the now open abdomen of the walker and pull out a long string of decaying mush. I whirled around and ran over to a tree as my stomach emptied itself. I coughed, causing me to almost taste the decay, making me puke again.

"Ya okay back there?" Daryl called over his shoulder.

"Dancing on rainbows," I struggled out, trying not to puke again. I didn't really have anything in my stomach, so it was mostly stomach acid that came up, which caused my throat to burn. I leaned my back against the tree, with my tank top covering my nose as I breathed deeply, trying not to watch the scene just off to my side.

"Yeah, haus had a big meal not long ago. I can feel it in there," Daryl said, causing me to dry heave. Skinning and gutting a deer was one thing. A dead, decaying body was another. I saw in the corner of my eye, Daryl pull out it's stomach.

"I got this," Rick said, making a face at the flesh infront of him. I watched through the corner of my eyes as he cut open the tough skin to the stomach, and started sifting through the digesting flesh inside. I saw Daryl lift something on the tip of his knife.

"This gross bastard had 'imself a woodchuck for lunch," he said turning the lump over and flicking it off the end of the knife.

"Atleast we know," Rick said as Daryl stood up.

"Atleast we know," Daryl agreed.

I shook my head. "I can't believe you two just did that."

Daryl stood there watching me as he pulled his now black blood sodden gloves off and tossed them to the side. He wiped his hands and knife off on his jeans as he approached. I gave him a weary look, Jake's tail bumping into my leg. Daryl reached out to touch my hair, and I dodged away quickly. "Don't fucking touch me, you weird ass walker impaler."

Rick let out a chuckle as Daryl tried to reach out for me again, a smirk on his face. Rick looked around.

"We should probably head back. We don't have very much day light left," he sighed.

"What do we tell Carol?" I asked, still eyeing Daryl.

"We can't be stumblin' around these woods a night," Daryl said running his hand across his forehead. "We'll get ourselves lost. Ain't no use to no one then."

Rick nodded with a sigh and started to head back the way we came. I gave Daryl one last suspicious glance as I followed after him, Jake trotting happily next to me. I let out a quiet sigh, not looking forward to telling Carol that we didn't have any luck. It was going to be dark, and unless Sophia had found her way back to the highway while we were gone, which I doubted, she would be out here alone tonight, unprotected.

I pursed my lips at that thought. If she was even still alive. Although we knew that the walker we had encountered was nowhere near her, now we knew there were, for sure, walkers in these woods. But part of me still hoped that she would be okay, and that we would find her. Maybe there was still a little glimmer of hope left in this new world, and it wasn't just all death and sadness. Maybe this is just the miracle I needed to keep going.

* * *

><p>Just for you all, I stayed up late, when I have to be at work in about five hours to open the store and work a ten hour shift, to finish this chapter and post it, because I seriously have got to finish packing haha. I've been putting it off longer than I should because it's kinda sad to be leaving the only place I've ever lived. But I wanted you all to have at least one more chapter until my possible hiatus :)<p>

There may be at least one more chapter! No promises though. :(

Thank you to **MulishaMaiden, Dalonega Noquisi, BelmontCalyx, 85, **and **LadyLecter47** for your awesome reviews! :) They really do make me smile to get great feedback!

If this is my last chapter for a little while, I'd love to have reviews to keep me motivated through it so I can keep writing chapters to have them ready to be posted when I get internet! I will still have my phone to check my emails!

So pretty pretty pretty please leave a review? Even the lurkers! I promise I don't bite and I love seeing new people review along with the people who have been with me from the very beginning! You guys really do keep this story alive! :)


	27. Under The Stars We Share

The track back to the highway was quiet. We kept our eyes out for any sign of any other walkers, or hopefully Sophia. Jake kept his usual spot at my side, his tail never ceasing to wag. There was no sign of any movement except for birds. As we started to walk up the slight hill to the highway, my eyes fell on Carol who was standing at the railing, worry etched across her face.

"You didn't find her," Carol breathed as we approached the railing. I saw all the color drain from her face.

"Her trail went cold," Rick explained. "We'll pick it up again at first light," he reassured her quickly after.

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own," Carol begged. "To spend the night alone in the woods."

"Huntin' in the dark's no good," Daryl offered quietly. "We'd jus' be trippin' over ourselves. More people would get lost."

"But she's twelve! She can't be out there on her own! You didn't find anything?" Carol said quickly, tears pooling in her eyes. I reached my hand out and took Daryl's hand, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Jake sat at my feet, his tail no longer wagging as he looked curiously over everyone. We did everything we could in the daylight we had.

"I know this is hard but I'm asking you not to panic," Rick said, trying to reassure her. "We know she was out there"

"We tracked her for a while," I said next to Daryl.

"We have to make this an organized effort," Rick said, looking over the group. "Daryl and Larae know the woods better than anybody. I've asked them to over see this," Rick said, running his hands through his hair. I could tell that this was getting to him. He knew Carol was relying on him to bring her daughter back, and with no such feat, I knew the guilt was eating away at him.

"Is..is that blood?" Carol asked, her eyes focusing on a blood stain on Daryl's jeans. He glanced down at the spot and then back up to her. He looked over at Rick, unsure what to say.

"We took down a walker," Rick said, his hands running through his hair again.

"Walker," Carol breathed, the color draining from her face again. Lori steadied her and led her to sit on the guard rail to the highway.

"There was no sign it was anywhere near Sophia," Rick said, his eyes pleading with her.

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked.

Rick glanced back to us, his face drawn. "We cut the sum'bitch open. Made sure," Daryl said, chewing his lower lip.

Carol took a few deep breaths, the color slowly starting to return to her face. She glared up at Rick. "How could you just, leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?"

I pursed my lips as I looked at Rick, who looked hurt. Daryl pulled me closer to him, and under his arm.

"Those two walkers were on us," Rick said, his eyes on the ground. "I-I had to draw them off, it was her only chance."

"Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol," Shane said stepping into the conversation.

"How is she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child!"

"It was my only option," Rick said, kneeling infront of Carol. "The only choice I could make."

"No one doubts that," I spoke up.

"My little girl got left in the woods," Carol said through her tears.

Rick let out a sigh of defeat, guilt written all over his face. He stood and gave us all one last glance as he walked away, his shoulders slumped. Daryl pulled me away from the group, giving Jake a low whistle to follow. We walked to his truck so we could start getting settled down for the night as the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

Daryl sat his crossbow in the back of the truck and started to go through his bag to find clothes that weren't covered in dirt, blood and grime. I sat on the lower tailgate of the truck, Jake curling up next to me, his head resting on his paws. I watched as Daryl pulled the grime covered shirt off on a side of the truck that no one could see him and pull on the clean one that he had found. He sat next to me on the tailgate.

"Do you think we're going to find her?" I asked quietly so the others around us couldn't hear as everyone started to settle down.

"I think so," he grunted. I ran my hand down Jake's fur causing him to close his eyes and lean more into me. I chewed on the corner of my lip. "Do ya think so?"

"I hope we do," I said slowly. "It'd..It'd to me a lot of good," I said glancing up to meet his eyes.

He studied my eyes for a moment, as if he was searching for something. He ran his hand over his forehead causing his hair to stand up. I smiled a little as I reached up to smooth it back down. He caught my hand as I started to pull it back to my lap. He laced his fingers with mine and looked over my face, his eyebrows drawn. He held my fingers gently, as if they were going to break. His lips were pursed into a hard line, and his eyes were worried, but still held something back. He was looking at me like I was about to shatter at any moment.

"Don't look at me like that," I said, keeping my voice low and looking away.

"Like whut?"

"Like I'm about to break."

He glanced away. "I ain't"

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. He pressed a light kiss to the crown of my head. We sat there in silence, letting only our breathing be the sound over us as everyone started to ration their dinner from the food we had. Daryl stood off of the tail gate.

"Stay here. I'll get you somethin'," he said, moving towards the group. I leaned back on my hands and stared up at the sky. Living in California, I had really almost forgotten what the stars looked like outside of the city. Only the moon was visible in the heart of the city, but even on the outskirts, only the brightest stars were visible. Once I had moved back to Georgia, the first night, my dad and I sat on the steps to the front porch after my "welcome home" dinner. I was amazed at the sight of all the stars I could see. The bright ones, the faint ones, the large to the barely visible. My dad laughed at me and told me I had turned into a city girl.

In all honesty, I had missed Georgia a little. I missed the trees, the farmland, the fireflies in the summer, the never really too cold winters, and I missed the smaller towns where everyone knew everyone and greeted everyone with a smile.

I still missed California though.

Daryl sitting next to me jolted me from my thoughts. "Get lost?" he asked, handing me an open can of peaches, keeping one for himself, a fork, and two bottles of water.

I smiled at him. Peaches were my favorite. "Just a little. You know me so well."

He shrugged, but I could tell he was smug of himself to be able to remember my favorite fruit. I sat the can down to move further back into the truck to grab the large bag of dog food and two bowls for Jake. I filled one with the food, and the other with one of the bottles of water. He thanked me with a lick to the face. I sat back next to Daryl, picking up the peaches.

Once again, the only sound between us was silence. Neither of us needed to fill every silence with noise. We were content to just sitting together in silence, and enjoy eachother's company. Once he reached the bottom of his can, he stood from the tailgate.

"I gotta take first watch," he said. "Ya can stay in the truck, but lock the doors and Jake's stayin' with ya."

I nodded, taking that as a cue. He took the empty can away for me as I opened the truck. He paused behind me. When I turned around he kissed me lightly. "I'll be out here if ya need anythin'," he said, pulling away.

I nodded with a smile and kissed him again quickly and climbed into the cab of the truck, Jake hopping in with me.

* * *

><p>"Everyone takes a weapon," Rick said, laying out a black leather holder of various types of sharp hacking weapons. I stood next to Daryl, his crossbow brushing against my arm. He glanced at me and I nodded, keeping my hands back away from the small armory. He said that I would just have to stay at his side at all times, because I was still not allowed to have anything I could potentially kill myself with.<p>

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need," Andrea argued. "What about the guns?"

"We've already been over this," Shane sighed. "Dale, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the tree's I'm worried about," Andrea glared at him.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a heard happens to be passing by, see, then it's game over for all of us," Shane said, returning her glare. "So you need to get over it."

Everyone was silent for a moment, and I cleared my throat. Daryl spoke up first. "The idea is to take the creek up, 'bout five miles, turn around, come back down the other side. Chances are, she'll be by the creek," he said glancing over everyone. "It's her only land mark." Daryl started to walk off as Rick started to speak. I followed after him, Dale calling for Jake. Jake was staying with him and T-dog for extra protection. We had enough people with us to be able to handle ourselves.

Daryl stood by a car, picking up one of the backpacks with extra water bottles, trail mix, beef jerky and other snacks incase we got caught up for longer than we expected. He helped me pull it over my shoulders as Andrea approached Dale. Daryl and I exchanged glances, as they started to argue loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Andrea, I'm begging you, don't," Dale said, lifting his hands up.

"I'm not going out there without my gun," she said crossing her arms, her weight on one hip. "I'll even say please."

"I'm doing this for you," he said shaking his head.

"No, Dale, you're doing this for you," she said, glaring full force at him. "You need to stop. What do you thinks going to happen, I'm going to take it and stick it to my head the moment you hand it to me, like Larae?"

"Don't bring me into this," I spat at her, earning a glare from her. I could feel Daryl stiffen in anger when he heard her. "I don't even get a weapon, and you don't hear me throwing a hissy fit like a fucking five year old that doesn't get her way. I'm earning my trust back," I hissed at her, stepping forward.

She sneered at me, and I felt my fist clench up as Daryl caught me by the wrist. "Don't," he growled, glaring daggers at her. "Let her be a fuckin' bitch if she thinks she'll get her fuckin' way. Jus' show's she's a closed minded, stupid bitch."

I rolled my eyes when her jaw dropped and pushed around Daryl towards the other side of the truck so I didn't have to listen to her anymore. He followed after me as Andrea continued to argue with Dale.

"Fucking bitch," I said, kicking at the ground with a glare. "You don't see me throwing a damn bitch fit about it."

Daryl didn't say anything as we leaned against the front of his truck, waiting for the others. When they finally came around the truck, Andrea gave us both a glare as we pushed off into the woods. I grumbled under my breath as everyone followed behind us.

0000

The cicadas echoed through the trees as we walked along the creek. I walked behind Daryl, with Rick and Carol putting space between me and Andrea. I could feel her eyes glaring at the back of my head, and I did my best to ignore it, but the longer and longer we walked, I found it hard to ignore the irritation.

As we moved through a brush of trees, my eyes caught sight of a yellow tent. "Daryl," I said quietly. He was looking in the opposite direction of where he started to sweep with his eyes. He looked where I was pointing, as the others came up behind us. Rick signaled everyone to be quiet, as we dropped low to the ground incase there was something moving around, living or not, that could see us.

"She could be in there," Shane said, above me.

"There could be a whole bunch of things in there," Daryl said, moving forward quietly. I stayed back as Rick, Shane and Daryl silently moved towards the tent, Daryl never lowering his crossbow. He signaled them to wait as he pulled out his buck knife and sat his crossbow down. He moved around the tent completely silent, looking in the various places he could.

He looked back at us, and gave us a shrug showing that he wasn't sure what was in there.

"Carol," Rick said, motioning everyone forward. Carol rushed passed us. "Call out softly, if that's her in there, your voice should be the first she hears." Daryl was standing outside the tent, his feet apart, and knife ready to lunge if something dead and walking came out of the tent.

"Sophia," she said just loud enough that if something was in the tent, it'd be able to hear. "Sophia, it's mommy." There wasn't an answer. Rick and Shane moved to Daryl's side as he started to zip open the tent.

I pressed my fingers to my mouth as he started to open the flap. Lori patted my arm as she stood next to me. Daryl coughed and pressed his hand to his mouth as he looked into the tent, and slowly disappeared inside. Rick glanced in as well, but turned away quickly, coughing at whatever was in the tent. Daryl was in there for a few seconds and it was completely silent.

"Daryl," I called out.

He appeared from the tent a few seconds later. "It ain't her," he said, wiping at his brow.

Carol let out a defeated sigh as Andrea stepped forward. "What's in there?" she asked.

"Some guy. Doin' what Jenner said, Opted out," he said, glancing at me. I rushed forward and held his arm as he pulled the crossbow over his other shoulder. Before anyone could say anything, bells started to sound over the woods.

"What the fuck is that?" I asked, glancing around quickly.

"Bells," Rick breathed as he started running towards the general direction, with all of us following quickly behind.

* * *

><p>I told you I would try for two before my possible hiatus! And I was able to come through! :)<p>

I know it's not the most eventful chapter, but atleast I'm not leaving you all with a terrible cliff hanger! I couldn't be that mean since I don't know when I'll be able to upload next haha.

Thank you to **MulishaMaiden, 85, littlemija69, LadyLecter47, Allimba,** and** Dalonega Noquisi** for your reviews! I can't wait to be able to upload again and see all of your wonderful faces(usernames?) again!

While I'm on hiatus, I'd like to know what everyone would like to see for season two! I'd really like some ideas to work in with the plot, and I'd like to know what everyone would like to see, because I love pleasing you all. More Darae?(I feel so clever for coming up with that). Or more development with other characters? Or more personal growth?

I'll be able to see everyones reviews on my phone, so please please please leave me some ideas. I'll credit you when your idea comes to play!


	28. When Church Bells Ring

"Where are they coming from?" I asked, as we came into a small clearing in the trees and paused to find our way.

"I think that way," Rick said, pointing in the direction of one of the echoes.

"Damn, it's hard to tell out here," Shane said, squinting into the trees.

"If we hear them, maybe Sophia does too," Carol said, her voice filled to the brim with hope.

"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe signaling others," Glenn said adjusting his bag as we started to run again into the direction Rick pointed.

"Signaling that they found her?" Andrea offered.

"Or she could be ringing them herself," Rick said, in front of all of us. "Come on," he said picking up his speed.

We ran through the trees, jumping over logs, dodging around bushes for only a matter of minutes before the sight of a graveyard broke through the trees. On the other side of the grave yard, there was a small church. I kept up with Daryl as we rushed through the trees to stop outside of the graveyard.

"That can't be it," Shane said. "It's got no steeple."

Rick simply wiped the sweat from his face and ran across the graveyard all of us running after him. I kept up with Daryl as I made sure to step around the graves and to not disrespect the dead buried beneath our feet. As we came up the side of the church, Rick ran for the front doors, taking the small stairs in two steps. Daryl and Shane followed up behind him, Rick signaling for us to stay quiet. They pushed open the doors with a quiet squeak. I looked in around them. In the front of the church, there was a large porcelain statue of Jesus on the cross, a crown of thorns around his head. In the pews, there were three people sitting there.

I thought they were alive for a split second, with they way they were sitting there facing the statue. But when they turned around, I heard the clattering of their teeth, and their moans of hunger as their eyes landed on us.

Glenn handed Daryl the weapon that he had, and Daryl handed him the crossbow. Rick took Lori's machete and circled around the pews to bury it into one of the walkers heads. Shane took the center and easily slid his large knife into the eye socket of the walker, as Daryl came around the other side, and made a kissing noise at the last walker to get it's attention. The walker turned to him, and he easily killed it, hacking into it's head and dodging away from it as it fell to his feet.

"Sophia!" Rick yelled, his voice echoing off the walls. He pushed open a side door and called again. I walked up the aisle to Daryl as he looked up to the statue.

"Yo, J.C. Ya takin' requests?" he asked it as I came to his side, and looked up to the statue.

"Rick, I'm telling you, it's the wrong church, it doesn't have a steeple," Shane said briskly to Rick.

Daryl glanced down at me as I stepped forward, still looking up to the statue. The sound of bells rang through the church again, causing everyone to whirl around and rush outside to follow the sound, including Daryl, leaving me alone in the church. I looked away from the statue, and turned around to follow the group outside, but stopped at the last pew. I turned back to the statue and walked back up the aisle.

"Are you even listening anymore?" I asked up to the statue. "During all this, I know there were a lot of prayers that you were given, but.. There aren't as many people anymore," I said, clenching my jaw. "Not as many prayers. Is it so hard to just answer them?" I turned to walk away from it again, but I felt anger bubble up inside me and I stopped short again, and turned to face the statue. "I begged you. I pleaded you. I begged for you not to take him. And with some sick fucking joke, you turned him into a walker," I spat, stomping forward and glaring up at the statue. "What are you going to do now, if I pray? If I pray that I make it through this, are you going to make sure I get bit? If I pray for Daryl to be safe, are you going to kill him? If I pray for Sophia's safety, are you going to make sure we never see her again?"

I wasn't sure where all of this anger was coming from. But it felt good to get it off of my chest. "You have one sick twisted fucking sense of humor, you know that?" I spat, pointing up at the statue. "Answering people's prayers," I scoffed. "Yeah, right. You just fucking lead us along, don't you? You're probably getting some kind of sick enjoyment, watching us suffer, and taking people away from us that we care about, although we've already lost so much. Well you know what? Fuck you. I'll do this alone. I don't need you. You don't do anything. You're just up there, watching us, laughing while we beg and plead for mercy. But this is just some entertainment for you, isn't it? The world wasn't fucked up enough for you already, so you just had to go and fuck it up some more."

I ran my fingers angerly through my hair and glared up at the statue. "We're just your little pawns aren't we? To just toy with, and to drag along through hell. You take my dad away from me, and I try and leave this dead world, and yet you won't even let me do that. You aren't done making me jump through hoops, and get chased down by those dead freaks. You just-"

"Larae?" Carols voice said, causing me to spin around and face her. She stood in the door way, Daryl behind her.

My eyes flickered between them. How much of that did they hear? I gave the statue one last harsh glance and briskly walked down the aisle, and pushed passed them, Daryl turning to follow me. Lori passed us as she walked up the stairs. I turned the corner to the church to sit in the shade of a tree, away from the church.

As I sat against the tree, Daryl approached, his crossbow in his hand and at his side. I squinted up at him as the stood in front of me. "What?" I asked, as he stared down at me.

"Whut was that?" he asked.

"What was what?" I answered, looking away towards the graveyard.

"Don't get smart," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, crossing my legs and placing my hands in my lap.

"Goin' off like that on a damn statue," he said, rubbing his thumb across his lip.

"Heat just got to my head," I said staring down at my hands in my lap. I wasn't sure why I went off like that. But I sure as hell did feel better. I could feel Daryl's eyes on me. I didn't look up from my hands. Daryl finally scoffed and walked away. I let out a sigh as I heard his foot steps grow quieter and quieter. I leaned my head back on the tree and stared up into the leaves.

"You shouldn't take this out on him, you know."

I glanced over to see a familiar shade of red hair. "Out on who, Dad?" I asked, my eyes returning to the leaves.

"Daryl."

"I figured you'd say God," I said, letting my eyes turn back to him.

He crossed his arms, and gave me a disapproving look. "You always have to be angry at someone when bad things happen. It's normal. But Daryl isn't the person you should take it out on."

I chewed the corner of my mouth and looked across the church to see him talking to Shane and Rick about something. I sighed and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I looked back to my dad, but he wasn't there. Only over grown swaying grass in the wind and trees.

"I'm losing my damn mind," I muttered under my breath. I stood from my sitting position and walked over to the group gathering around another tree. I stood next to Daryl as he watched me approach. I gave him a small smile as Shane approached.

"You all go on ahead and follow the creek bed back. Daryl's in charge. We're going to hand back, search this area for another hour, just to be thorough," He said, his shot gun in his hands as Rick stood next to him.

"Yer slittin' us up," Daryl said, pulling his crossbow over his shoulder. "Ya sure?"

"Yeah," Shane sighed. "We'll catch up to you."

"I want to stay too," Carl said, from under Lori's arm. "I'm her friend."

I looked up to Daryl who rolled his eyes. I shifted the backpack on my shoulders as Lori agreed for him to stay. Rick kissed Lori goodbye and as she started to walk away, Rick stopped her.

"Here, take this," he said holding out his gun. "Remember how to use it?"

"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unprotected," she said shaking her head.

Daryl reached behind him and pulled something out of his belt loops, "Here," he said handing it to her. "I got a spair. Take it."

I rolled my eyes and followed after Daryl when Andrea let out a pouty sigh. "Where did you get that?" I asked as I caught up to him.

"The tent. It was in the idiot's hand," he muttered. I nodded and glanced behind us to see Andrea glaring full force at Lori. I rolled my eyes again and matched Daryl step for step as we pushed into the woods once again, the cicada's chirping surrounding us again.

The group traveled in silence for half an hour before Carol finally spoke up.

"So this is it?" she asked, sitting on a fallen tree. "This is the whole plan?"

"I guess the plan is to break us down in to smaller an' smaller groups," Daryl answered, leaning against the tree. I dug one of the water bottles out of the backpack I was carrying and took a sip of it then handed it to Daryl.

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks," Andrea said spitefully. "I see you have a gun," she sneered at Lori.

"Why, you want it?" Lori said, her face hard with irritation. "Here, take it," she said, shoving it at her. "I'm sick of the looks you're giving me," she said, when Andrea hesitated. Andrea snatched it from her, a look of disbelief on her face. "All of you," Lori said, sitting on the fallen log. "Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through right now, and I would do anything to stop it, but you have got to stop blaming Rick," she said turning to Carol. "It is in your face everytime you look at him. And when Sophia ran, he didn't even hesitate, did he? Not even for a second. I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way he did," she continued, looking over all of us. "Or made the hard decisions that he had to make, or if any body could have done it any different." Carol didn't look at her as she spoke. She kept her eyes trained on the dirt at her feet. Lori glanced at us all again. "Anybody?" she asked. "You all look to him and blame him when he's not perfect," she said shaking her head. "If you think you can do this without him, go right ahead, no one is stopping you."

Andrea stepped forward after a moment and handed her the gun back. "We should keep moving," she said once Lori took the gun back. I glanced up at Daryl who simply pushed away from the tree he was leaning on. Andrea made eye contact with me as I turned to follow Daryl. I gave her a hard look and followed after him, as the others followed behind.

* * *

><p>I guess that wasn't too long of a wait. :) I was itching to get this posted though. This is the first time I've had internet since I moved!<p>

I miss being able to write! It suddenly dawned on me that I'm not going to be able to write until I have access to internet because I was watching and going along with the season two episodes online. So unless I go somewhere with internet I won't be able to write! But I'm going to be at my fiance's house all day today so I'll get a good head start on the next chapter! Please be patient with me! It's looking like I'll have internet in the next two weeks or so!

So, Larae went a little crazy and started talking to a statue. And now hallucinations? What does this say for our little redhead? :)

Thank you to **MulishaMaiden, 85, LadyLecter47, Dalonega Noquisi, littlemija69, **and **jstarr713 **for your awesome reviews! Thank you for your ideas! Keep the ideas coming, and I might throw them in!

Leave a review and let me know what you think!


	29. Gunshots Ringing

"_How much further is it, Daryl? My feet hurt," I whined, and shifting the backpack filled with supplies on my shoulders so the straps weren't digging into my skin._

"_Well, if ya would shut up an' not scare away all the damn deer we coulda stopped miles ago," he grumbled, his crossbow in his hands. I glared daggers at the back of his head._

"_Well, fine, asshole. I just won't talk to you for the rest of this trip," I muttered._

"_Don't threaten me with a good time," he scoffed. I poked my tongue out at him as we continued along. I pursed my lips in irritation as he stopped to study the ground for foot prints. He glanced up at me and rolled his eyes at my expression._

_He straightened and stalked off silently in some direction and I followed behind watching his every move. I watched how his broad shoulders didn't sag under the weight of his pack, and his long strides sure even with the crossbow in his hands. He was at home here, in the woods. And even if he did have to drag me along, I was glad he wanted me to be here with him. I let my eyes wander the back of him and I caught myself with a blush. _

_No, Larae, I thought to myself. You're sixteen. He's twenty. Stop. Don't be ridiculous. He'd never feel the same way about you. _

_I about slammed into him when he stopped. "We can stop here for th' night," he said, setting his bag down. _

_I let out a happy sigh and let my bag slide off my shoulders and I plopped down next to it, happy for the break. I smiled brightly up at him when he rolled his eyes down at me. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back finally catching a breeze in the trees. The slight rustle of the trees was the only sound around us. _

_I opened my eyes and caught Daryl staring at me from where he was pulling the packed up tent out of his bag. He quickly looked away and busied himself with the tent._

* * *

><p>"That was a gun shot," I said, as the sudden noise that pulled me from my thoughts echoed away in the trees I paused in my track behind Daryl, to glance around in the trees. The others paused also, Daryl letting out a sigh.<p>

"It was prolly nothin'," he grumbled, pushing on again. I gave the trees one last glance and followed after.

We didn't get very far before Lori stopped again to look behind us.

"Worried about it?" Andrea asked, causing me to look over my shoulder to see everyone stopped. Daryl let out another irritated grumble that I couldn't quite catch.

"That was a gun shot," Lori said, not turning to us.

"We all heard it," Daryl said next to me.

"Why one? Why just one gun shot?" she asked, her face and voice filling with worry.

"Maybe they took down a walker," he shrugged.

"Please don't patronize me," Lori said, glaring at Daryl. "You know Rick wouldn't risk a gun shot to take down one walker, or Shane. They'd do it quietly."

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked.

"There's nothin' we can do about it anyway," Daryl said, ignoring the question. "We can't run around these woods chasing echoes."

"So what do we do?" Lori asked.

"Same as we've been doin'," Daryl said, adjusting the crossbow in his hands. "Beat the bush for Sophia and make our way back to the highway."

"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV," Andrea said. Everyone started to walk forward again, when Andrea stopped us again. Daryl raked his fingers through his hair in irritation. I grabbed his hand, and gave him a look. He rolled his eyes and muttered again."I'm sorry for what you're going through," Andrea said, approaching Carol. "I know how you feel."

"I suppose you do," Carol said with a soft smile. "Thank you. The thought of her, out here, by herself... It's the not knowing is what's killing me. I just keep hoping and praying that she doesn't end up like Amy-" Carol cut her self off.

I felt myself smirk to myself. That's what you get, you stupid blonde bitch.

"Oh, god that's the worst thing I've ever said," Carol said stepping forward and grabbing Andreas hands.

Andrea shook her head. "We're all hoping and praying with you," she said, pulling her hands away. "For what it's worth."

"I'll tell ya what it's worth," Daryl said, stepping passed me to the two. "Not a damn thing. It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna locate this little girl, an' she's gonna be just fine," Daryl spun away from them and started to stop away. "Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord," he scoffed as he walked passed me. I grabbed his hand and matched his steps as we moved further into the woods.

* * *

><p>"We'll be losin' light before too long," Daryl said, running his hand over his forehead to wipe away the sweat. "We should call it."<p>

"Let's head back," Lori agreed.

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Carol asked.

"We'll find her tomorrow," Lori said nodding.

We pressed on again into the woods, just changing our direction slightly, to head back to the RV where T-dog, Dale and Jake were. The woods were finally starting to cool down from the setting sun causing my sweat soaked shirt to cool against my skin. My skin was getting sticky and the bugs were having a hay day with everyone's exposed skin.

The grass was starting to get thicker, and I could feel the chigger bites on my skin as we pushed further and further into the brush. I just silently hoped that I wouldn't find a tick digging it's head into my skin feasting on the blood that was beneath.

The mosquitos were in full force as the sun started to set beyond the trees. Once we got back to the highway I would have to inform Dale that we needed to find bug spray. If I was going to have to constantly be covered in dirt and sweat, I refused to have bug bites added to that equation.

"How much farther?" Lori asked.

"Not much," Daryl said, holding back a branch for me. "Maybe a hundred yards, as the crow flies."

"Too bad we're not crows," Andrea grumbled behind me.

No one answered her as we continued to track along through the trees. I was too engrossed in my thoughts about wanting bug spray and a hot shower to notice that a pair of foot steps branched off from us. A scream snapped me frm my thoughts.

"Andrea?" Lori shouted into the woods as we tried to locate the scream.

"There!" Daryl said, running passed us. My eyes landed on Andrea fighting off a walker, almost fifty yards away. How the hell did she get that far away from us? I ran after Daryl as Andrea tripped on a fallen log. The walker started for her, it's jaws snapping and chattering as she screamed and tried to kick it away. Before any of us could reach her, a figure on a horse appeared from the trees, and knocked the walker back with a bat.

"Lori?" the girl on the horse asked Andrea. "Lori Grimes?"

"I'm Lori," Lori answered as we reached the two.

"Rick sent me, you have to come now," she said, putting the bat in a black bag hanging off of the saddle of the horse.

"What?" Lori asked, dumbfounded.

"There's been an accident, Carl's been shot, you have to come now." When Lori didn't answer she pleaded again. "He's still alive, but you have to come now. Rick needs you, just come."

As Lori started to pull off her bag, Daryl stopped her. "Woah, woah, woah, we don't know this girl!" He said, as Lori pushed passed him. "You can't get on that horse!"

"Rick said you had others on the highway?" The girl asked as Lori climbed up on the horse behind her. "That traffic back up? Go two miles back, there's a road, you'll see the mailbox. The name's Greene."

Before anyone could answer her, she ushered the horse into a sprint and disappeared into the woods. I blinked in surprise as the walker sat up, groaning. "Shut up," Daryl spat and gave it an arrow to the head. He stormed off away from it, but I took long enough to pull the arrow out of the walkers head and rushed to catch up with him as Andrea stood shakily from the ground.

* * *

><p>"Where's the others?" Dale asked as we come over the railing to the highway.<p>

"Carl's been shot," I said, as Daryl held my bag for me so I could climb across it. Jake rushed at me, and pressed himself into my leg. I greeted him with a pat on the head.

"Shot? What do you mean shot?" he asked, his brow drawn.

"We don't know, Dale," Glenn said, following behind me. "All we know is that this girl came out of no where like Zoro on a horse and took Lori."

"And you let her?" he asked Daryl.

"Climb out of my ass old man, Rick sent her," Daryl glared at him. "She knew Lori's name and Carl's," he said, storming off in the direction of his truck, his bag on his back, mine in his free hand from his cross bow. I hurried after him, with Jake still pressed to my leg and caught up to his side as he dropped both the bags in the back of his truck. He leaned on the side of his truck and looked down at me.

"What?" I asked.

He shook his head as Jake whined and licked my hand. I kneeled down next to him, and he pressed his head into my neck with his tail wagging. I laughed as he licked my face as I petted him and buried my fingers into his fur. He looked up to Daryl his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I saw a smile twitch at Daryl's mouth as he gave Jake a quick pat to the head.

Daryl glanced around and his eyes fell on the RV. "Come on," he muttered, walking back to the group. I kissed Jake's cheek and stood up to follow, Jake wiggling happily at my side.

* * *

><p>Well, hello there strangers :) Long time no see. Sorry I haven't been able to update! I've been crazy busy. I apologize! I promise, only a little longer of this bullshit! :)<p>

And that season finale? Holy. Shit. All of the feels. All of the ideas. I'm sooper excited to get there. And I'm sooper excited Shane died. But Dale. Oh god, Dale. I bawled for like an hour. And Michonne! I'm so excited!

I'm just kind of worried though. Once I reach the end of season two, what would you guys like to see? A hiatus, until season three? Or me lead the group off on another feat until the third season premiers? It's up to you all!

Leave a review, let me know what you think! Let me know what you think I should do! Thank you all for being so patient!

Thank you to **85, Dalonega Noquisi, LadyLecter47, jstarr713, MulishaMaiden, cakeface, **and **SharonH** for your awesome reviews!


	30. Memories

"We need to go," Dale said, as the group formed a circle next to the RV. I stood next to Daryl, Jake sitting at my feet.

"I won't do it," Carol said, shaking her head. "We can't just leave."

"Carol, the group is split," Dale tried to reason, leaning against the RV. "We're scattered and weak."

"What if she comes back? And we're not here?" Carol argued. She looked over each of our faces. "It could happen," she added weakly.

"If Sophia found her way back, and we weren't here, that would be awful," Andrea said, nodding.

"Okay," Daryl spoke up. "We gotta plan for this. I say tomorrow mornin' is soon enough to pull up the stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign. Leave her some supplies." He glanced down at me. "I'll hold here tonight. Stay with the RV."

"If you're staying here then I'm staying," I said, firmly.

"If the RV stays, I stay," Dale added.

"Thank you," Carol said, smiling at us.

I nodded, and reached for Daryl's hand. He squeezed my hand as Andrea sighed.

"I'm in," she said.

"Well, you all are staying, then I'm-"

"Not you, Glenn, you're going," Dale interrupted Glenn in mid sentence. "Take Carols cherokee."

"Me?" he asked, his voice getting louder in volume. "Why is it always me?"

"We have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and find out what's going on," Dale said, straightening up to his full height. "But most importantly, you have to get T-dog there. It's not an option. That cut has gone from bad to worse, he has a very serious blood infection."

I glanced around to see T-dog at the end of the RV, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He looked back at us when his name was brought up. He was covered in sweat, but still shivering under the blanket. I didn't hear the rest of what Dale said, as Daryl looked behind us at his motorcycle. He looked back to me, then pulled his hand away to walk over to the bike. I watched as he snatched a white, grease stained rag off of the seat of the bike, and gave Dale a hard look. He opened the side carriers to the bike, and pulled out a gallon ziplock bag. He walked back to us, the rags and bag in hand.

"Keep yer oily rags off of my brothers motorcycle," he said, throwing the rags at Dale. He placed the ziplock bag down on the hood of his truck. "Why did ya wait til now to say anything?" he asked, searching through the plastic bag. "I've got my brothers stash." I rolled my eyes. Of course Merle would have a stash in the apocalypse. I came up next to Daryl's side, and watched as he searched through the pill bottles. "Crystal, X, we don't need that," he pulled a bottle from the bag, while glancing it over. "Got some kick ass pain killers," he said, tossing the bottle to Glenn. He reached into the bag again, and grabbed another bottle. "Oxycycline," he said, tossing the second bottle to Dale. "S'not the generic stuff, neither. First class. Merle got the clap on occasion," Daryl said simply, grabbing the plastic bag and walking back to the bike. I laughed under my breath and followed after him.

"I do hope that he's the only one that had the clap on occasion," I said, nudging him in the arm. He looked at me and rolled his eyes as Jake circled the motorcycle, watching us.

"Who do ya think I am? I ain't Merle. I got standards," he scoffed.

"Well maybe I gave you the clap," I said, smiling.

He gave me a look. "I don't think anyone 'sides me would touch ya with a six foot pole. And I don't even know whut I was thinkin'."

"You're an asshole," I said, my jaw dropping. I went to punch him in the arm, but he grabbed me by the wrist. The corners of his mouth were tipped up into a smile. He planted a light kiss on the top of my head, and let go of my wrist. I glared at him.

"Jake," I called the dog. Jake trotted happily towards me. "I think Daryl wants kisses."

* * *

><p>That night, Daryl and I took up the floor in the RV, Jake curled around our feet. Carol was on one of the beds in the back, but I could tell from her crying that she wasn't sleeping at all. Andrea sat at the table next to us, but the constant clatter of the gun she was messing with, was keeping both Daryl and I from sleeping.<p>

Daryl finally let out an irritated sigh, and sat up. Jake's head lifted with him, his ears perked as he watched Daryl. I sat up as he stood, and rubbed my eyes. He grabbed his crossbow, and pulled it over his shoulders. "I'm gonna need my clip," Daryl said to Andrea, his voice low. I went to stand, but he stopped me. "No. Stay here. Get some sleep." I pursed my lips as I thought about arguing with him. But I could tell that he was already irritated, so I decided not to push my luck. I simply nodded, and stayed where I was sitting.

"Atleast take Jake," I said.

He nodded and whistled for the dog. Jake hopped to his feet and was at Daryl's side in seconds. Andrea handed Daryl his clip, and he loaded his gun easily. "I'm gonna walk the road. Look for the little girl." He nodded towards Carol and gave me a smile. He turned and exited the RV. Andrea watched him leave, then stood to follow him out.

"I'm coming too," I heard her say as she closed the RV door behind her. I leaned back on my hands, and saw Carol watching me.

"He's got a good heart," Carol said, when I made eye contact with her.

I paused for a moment and gave her a smile. "Yeah. I'm glad I'm not the only one that sees it."

She returned my smile. "You love him," she said as a statement, not a question.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I leaned forward off of my hands. I nodded. "A lot." She didn't answer, and I stood. "I'm going to go up and sit with Dale. Sleep just isn't my friend tonight."

She nodded and turned once again towards the window. I exited the RV and went to the metal ladder that led to the top of the RV. Dale watched me as I climbed to the top.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, as I sat next to him.

"Not tonight," I answered.

"How're you doing?" he asked, looking at me.

I glanced up at him. "I'm alright, I guess. Haven't really had time to slow down and think about things," I said, shrugging. "I've been more focused on getting Daryl to forgive me."

"Forgiveness takes time," Dale sighed. I nodded.

"Daryl's not exactly a forgive and forget kind of person, either," I sighed. "My own fault though."

"You weren't in your right mind. No one blames you for it," he assured me.

I didn't answer as I looked up towards the sky. We sat in silence for a few minutes. The sky was clear, and the moon was shining almost full, lighting the highway up, to where we could see easily. I could hear the crickets chirping in the woods. There was no wind, and no clouds.

"This reminds me of all the times Daryl dragged me out camping when we were younger. Before I moved," I said, a smile crossing my face. "I don't know why he always dragged me along. Every trip, he always told me that he would never take me again, because I would never shut up long enough for him to be able to think."

"Sounds like something he would say," Dale smiled.

"He tells me that a lot," I laughed. "I just never understood why he always wanted me to go. And he was always so adamant about it. He never gave me a choice. If I said no, he would still show up at my door step. If my bags weren't packed, he'd pack them for me by grabbing various things from my dresser and closet and shove them in a backpack and drag me out the door. Once, I grabbed a hold of the railing and sat on the steps, and wouldn't let go of the railing.

"'Rae, let go of that damn railin' before I carry yer damn ass out that damn door,' were his exact words. I still refused to let go, so he pried my arms away from the railing, and literally threw me over his shoulder. All my dad did was wave good bye, and tell us to have a nice trip," I laughed. "I was so mad at him that I didn't talk to him for a day and a half until he apologized."

"Daryl doesn't really seem the type to apologize," Dale said, a smile on his face.

"No, he's not. He didn't say he was sorry. He found a flower. It's called a Ghost Orchid. It's a very very rare flower. Almost extinct. It's technically illegal to pick it, and not let it grow. He actually climbed twenty feet into a tree to get it for me. Once he climbed back down, he handed it to me and said 'I betcha never seen one a' those before. It's a Ghost Orchid cause it looks like it's floatin'. It's really rare and really beautiful. Yer probably never gonna see one of them again. Jus' like you.'," I smiled at the memory. "We started dating two weeks later." I glanced over to the elderly man. "Kinda cheesy. But it got me to forgive him."

Dale laughed. "I think everyone has to be in love enough to be cheesy at some point in their life." I returned his smile.

We jumped at the sound of someone climbing the RV. I let out a sigh as Carol threw her bag over, and pulled herself to the top.

"Can't sleep either?" Dale asked.

"I'm going to wait for them," she sighed, sitting next to me. "You can go down and sleep if you want to. I'm sure Larae and I can keep an eye out."

"No no. I'll keep watch," he assured her.

"Which way did they go?" she asked.

Dale pointing towards a direction in the woods. I leaned back on my hands, and stared out into the dark woods. Dale stood behind Carol and I, watching the woods, waiting for a sign for them to come back. I could feel the worry pouring off of him.

"You don't need to worry," Carol said, quietly. "She's with Daryl. If something happens he can protect her."

I nodded. "He wouldn't just leave her out there," I added.

"You hear what I'm saying?" Carol asked up to him.

"Sorry, all I heard was if something happens," he sighed. "Mind keeping watch?" he asked, handing her the gun.

"I don't know how to use that," she said, sitting up straight. Dale started to hand it to me but I held my hands up.

"I'm on an 'anything sharp or anything that goes bang, don't fuckin' touch it' law right now. I don't want my ass skinned."

He handed it back to Carol. "I won't be gone long. If you see anything, call out. I'm not going far."

I watched Dale as he climbed down the RV. I chewed my lip as Carol stood, to get a better view of the area. This whole, nothing sharp and nothing that goes bang thing was getting annoying.

* * *

><p>Dale was back at the top of the RV when we saw the flashlight coming back from the woods. I jumped up and looked out over the cars to see Daryl and Andrea. I climbed down the stairs to the RV in two steps and ran out to them. There was no Sophia with them. Jake rushed towards me, and jumped up, resting his paws on my stomach. I kissed the top of his head as Daryl approached. He nodded towards me with a small smile and we walked back to the RV.<p>

Dale climbed down as we approached. Daryl didn't say anything, just shook his head. He opened the door of the RV for me to let me and Jake inside and followed after us.

Carol had the door to the back room shut, and I could hear quiet sobbing from behind it. I pursed my lips as I sat at the table. Daryl sat the crossbow next to the table and sat next to me with a sigh. Jake laid on the floor, and curled up into a ball.

"No luck?" I asked.

"No," he shook his head. "Just found some guy that opted out and turned walker hangin' in a tree."

"Ah," I sighed, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Told 'er about the time I got lost in the woods while ya were at that damn summer camp," he muttered.

I laughed quietly. "Oh, you mean you and your itchy ass?"

He kissed the top of my head, and I tilted my head back to kiss him. He pulled away, and I smiled at him. "I love you," I said.

"I love ya too, Rae."

* * *

><p>Just because I needed some fluff added in there :)<p>

I brought my laptop with me, while I went back to my moms house to do laundry, so I could write this entire chapter and post it for you all in one sitting, because I felt so bad for making you wait so long. I hope it's up to par, because I was in a rush because I'm leaving town for the day, so I had to hurry and write it! I hope it came out okay! :)

The question is still up to play of what should I do when I reach the end of season two! Should I put this on hiatus? Or pick something from the comics and write it in here? Cause I'm thinking about doing Wilshire estates or something. I'm not sure.

Let me know what you think!

Thank you to **LadyLecter47, Nymph. Naji, jstarr713, MulishaMaiden, Dalonega Noquisi, CeruleanKitten, and 85 **for you're lovely reviews! :) I hope to be able to post more soon!


	31. Farmhouse Fields

Dale and T-dog had found car chalk in one of the abandoned cars. So we used that to write on the windshield for Sophia. We left her enough food and water to last her a few days if something should happen and we couldn't get back to the highway for a few days. After packing up the rest of our things, we headed towards the farm.

I rode with Daryl on the motorcycle, while Jake rode with Dale in the RV. I had ridden on this same bike a few times years ago, when Merle actually let Daryl use it. I just knew that I was terrified to let go of Daryl's waist and I knew that when we turned, I had to lean with him. When we pulled up to the farm, Daryl turned the bike off, and balanced it so I could climb off.

When my feet were firmly on the ground, Daryl pulled out the kick stand and climbed off it as well as the rest of our group exited the house. An elderly man walked beside Rick, and I could see him looking at the bike with disdain, and that being focused on Daryl and I. I stepped closer to Daryl, and reached for his hand. I heard Jake yip happily and rush for me. He wiggled at my side, until he saw the unfamiliar faces around us. His tail ceased it's wagging and he moved in front of Daryl and I. I reached down to him with my free hand and petted his fur that was beginning to stand up.

"How is he?" Dale asked.

"He'll pull through," Lori said, a smile on her face. "Thanks to Hershel and his people."

"And Shane," Rick added. "We would have lost Carl if not for him." I felt my eyes move towards Shane. He was standing back away from us. He was wearing a plaid shirt and overalls that looked about five sizes too big. I looked back to Rick as Dale stepped forward and pulled the man into a hug.

Hugs were passed around as Daryl and I stood back away from everyone. I glanced up to Daryl, who was watching the scene while chewing on his lip. I gave his hand a squeeze and he looked down to me. I gave his arm a light nudge with my shoulder and a smile.

He shook his head at me, and returned the smile lightly.

* * *

><p>I felt awkward as I stood next to Daryl as the Greene family built a stone memorial for a man named Otis. But Rick and Lori insisted that all of us be there, because Carl wouldn't be alive without him. So we stood under neath a large oak tree and watched as the family solemnly built the memorial.<p>

"Blessed be God," Hershel spoke from the bible in his hands. I reached up and my hand found the three rings around my neck. "Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Praise be to him, for the gift of our brother, Otis."

We all listened in silence as Hershel spoke. Daryl kept his arms crossed, and his eyes focused on the grass at our feet. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, until Hershel spoke to Shane.

"Shane. Will you speak for Otis?" he asked. My eyes darted back to Shane, whom now had a shaved head. Even Daryl looked up to Shane, who had been uncharacteristically quiet. Shane looked like a deer in the headlights.

"I'm not good at it," he said quietly.

"You were the last one with him," the woman named Patricia said through her tears. "You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning."

Shane swallowed, and I could tell that he wasn't really seeing what was going on around him as he stared towards the ground. "We were about done," he said after a few moments. "Almost out of ammo, we were down to pistols. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. 'We gotta save the boy.' That's what he said. He gave me his back pack and he said 'Run. I'll take the rear, I'll cover you.' And when I looked back.." He paused as he limped forward. "If not for Otis," he said, grabbing a rock from the wheel barrel. "I would have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl, too. Otis..he saved us both."

Daryl and I exchanged looks. I pursed my lips and looked back to Shane. That sounded like a whole ton of shit to me, along with the way he wouldn't look anyone in the eye as he spoke. I chewed my lip as Shane started to walk away.

* * *

><p>"How long has this girl been lost," Hershel asked as we gathered around one of the vehicles.<p>

"This will be day three," Rick answered.

Maggie rolled out a map on the hood of the truck. "This is a county map. Shows terrains and elevations."

"This is perfect," Rick said. "We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the entire area, and start searching in teams."

"Not you, not today," Hershel said, placing his hand on Ricks shoulder. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." He looked towards Shane. "And your ankle, push it now, you'll be laid up a month. No good to anybody."

"Guess that jus' leaves me," Daryl said over my shoulder. "I'm gonna head back to the creek. Work my way back from there," he said pointing at a place on the map. I looked up at him over my shoulder as he adjusted the crossbow on his back. There was no way in hell he was going alone.

"I could still be useful," Shane said. "Drive up the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back."

"Tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right," Rick nodded.

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. We need the gun training we've been promising," Shane said, leaning forward onto the hood of the truck.

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property," Hershel said, looking at Rick. His voice was firm. "We've managed so far, not turning this into an armed camp."

"With all due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here-"

"We're guests here," Rick interrupted Shane."This is his property. And we will respect that," Rick continued, looking Shane directly in the eye.

I felt Daryl shift behind me. I could tell he didn't like this idea. I pursed my lips. I didn't like it much either. Rick and Shane sat their guns down on the truck on top of the map.

"First things first," Rick said, straightening and placing his hands on his waist. "Set up camp, and start searching for Sophia."

"I hate to be the one to ask, but someone's going to have to. What do we do if we find her and she's bit?" Shane asked. "I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

"You do what has to be done," Rick answered after a moment.

"And her mother?" Maggie asked. "What do you tell her?"

"The truth," Andrea said.

"We have to gather and secure all the weapons," Shane said. "Only to be used on a practice range off site. I do request one rifle. On look out. Dale's got experience," Shane said towards Hershel.

Hershel was quiet for a moment. I could tell he was about to say no, when Rick spoke up. "It would make everyone feel more safe. Less inclined to want to carry." Hershel finally nodded. "Thank you," Rick said, nodding.

Daryl pulled away from the truck as Maggie was talking to Rick. I ran after him, catching up at his side. "You're not going alone," I said. "I'm going with you."

"Like hell," he scoffed."Yer keepin' yer ass here."

"My ass is going with you," I said catching his wrist and turning him to face me. "You aren't going out there alone. Too many things could happen." He scoffed and looked away from me. "I'm serious Daryl. Even if I have to sneak after you. I'm going with you."

"Fine," he muttered. "You still ain't gettin' a weapon."

I smiled up at him and wrapped my arms around his middle. "I knew you'd see it my way."

"Only 'cause ya threatened to stalk me," he grumbled. I pulled away from him.

"Let's go set up our tent," I said, pulling him by the wrist.

* * *

><p>"I'm leaving Jake here," I said as I walked at Daryl side once we got the tent set up and our bags inside of it. "Lord knows they could use some kind of protection."<p>

"Daryl, Larae!" Ricks voice called. I looked over my shoulder to see Rick walking towards us from the house. "You two okay on your own?"

"We're better on our own," Daryl answered. "Don't worry, we'll be back before dark," he said, walking forward again. I followed after him.

"Hey!" Rick called again, making me pause. "We have a base. We can get this search properly organized now."

"Ya gotta point, or are we jus' chattin'?" Daryl asked harshly. I chewed my lip as Daryl turned to face Rick fully.

"My point," Rick said, his voice softer. "Is it let's you off the hook. You don't owe us anything."

Daryl scoffed and turned around to head to the woods. "My other plans fell through."

I gave Rick a small wave, and hurried after Daryl who was still storming off into the woods. I almost had to run to keep up once he reached the trees. "Slow down," I whined. "My legs aren't as long as yours."

He slowed down to a normal walking pace through the trees. I smiled brightly up to him when he glanced down at me. He rolled his eyes as we kept walking further and further into the woods towards the creek. The woods had no wind, so the air was still and thick with humidity, as Georgia's late summer weather normally was. I could feel the sweat running down my back in a matter of minutes. I was glad that I had grabbed more tank tops, and enough jeans that I could spare a pair to lop off into shorts. With Daryl's help of course, because I wasn't allowed to touch anything pointy.

I ran my fingers through my hair, and I could feel the sweat starting to saturate it at the roots. I grumbled under my breath and pulled it up into a bun and the base of my neck, which proved a feat because without it's normal trims, it was getting long. Daryl looked down at me again.

"The hells yer problem?" he asked.

"What?" I asked, blinking up at him.

"Yer grumblin'."

"So are you."

He rolled his eyes. "Nevermind I asked," he muttered.

I poked my tongue out at him. "It's hot. And my hair is getting a lot longer, so it's making me feel hotter."

"Cut it off," he said reaching his hand out, and placing the side of his hand just under my chin. "To right there."

"No!" I exclaimed.

"Then don't bitch," he said rolling his eyes at my reaction.

"But it's what I'm good at."

He scoffed and took a few steps ahead of me. I watched him as he walked through the woods, making almost no sound as he stepped around twigs, and dry brushes that would rattle if just brushed. I made sure to step where he stepped as I followed behind him so I wouldn't piss him off with a lot of noise. He walked with his back straight, his senses aware to everything around us. Every rustle and snap that wasn't cause from us caused his head to snap in that direction.

Soon my eyes fell on the knife at his waist. I pursed my lips. We really needed to talk about this "anything sharp or anything that goes bang don't fuckin' touch it" rule. It was only going to be a matter of time before something happened, and a herd just happened to stumble upon us and I wouldn't have anything to protect myself. I atleast wanted a knife.

But I was afraid to bring it up. I knew it would just piss him off, and not in a way that would make me want to just pester him. It would be in a way that I wouldn't want to be alone in the woods with him because all of his rage would be focused on me. So I kept my mouth shut as we walked through the woods.

"Whut the fuck is that?" Daryl said quietly, as we started to push towards a clearing. I peeked around him, as we entered the clearing, to see an old white farm house standing alone in the field of overly grown lush grass.

"Think she could be in there?" I asked.

"Only one way to find out," he answered, pulling his crossbow in front of him. "Stay behind me," he said, as he walked up the steps to the door. I did as I was told, and he kicked the door in, his crossbow aimed and ready. The house was quiet except for the sounds of our feet making the old floor creak under our weight. It looked like the house would have been gorgeous once, with old furniture still sitting around with cobwebs tying it to the floor. The curtains still hung, holes eaten away by moths, and the smell of musk filled my nose like the house hadn't been lived in for years before we came across it.

I followed behind Daryl almost pressed into his back as he ducked his crossbow into each of the rooms, checking for anything living and not. Each of the rooms had furniture in it. A study, a living room, a guest room. And each room had suffered from time when its owner abandoned it. I jumped at the sound of a creak not caused from us.

Daryl shushed me quietly as he followed where the noise came from, his finger on the trigger to his crossbow the entire time. He looked into a room, and glanced back at me. He started to turn around, but his eyes caught something in the trashcan. A freshly opened can of sardines. His eyes lifted up to a partially opened pantry. He motioned me to stay put, as he crept forward, seemingly with no sound.

He slowly reached out for the handle to the door, and snatched it open quickly. I let out a sigh of relief when it was empty and he lowered the crossbow. I came up beside him, to look at whatever caught his attention. There was a pale yellow blanket in the bottom of the pantry. Someone had been sleeping there.

"Whoever slept in there couldn't be much shorter than me," I said, as he ran his hand through his hair.

"That's whut I was thinkin'," he said, as his eyes circled the room once again. "Let's go."

I nodded and followed after him outside the house. He walked down the steps and paused at the last one. "Sophia!" he called out. The only answer was the sound of birds crowing. We stood there for a few moments before he started towards the woods, with a mutter that sounded like "If that was here, she ain't here now," but something caught his eye. He started towards a small bush of white flowers and leaned down to inspect them.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"It's a Cherokee rose," he answered. "It has a legend about how when the Cherokee mothers lost their children on the trail of tears, these grew in the place of the tears," he continued, plucking one of the flowers.

"You're just a natural florist, aren't you?" I said, a small smile coming to my face.

He shot me a look. "If ya actually paid attention half the damn time when I took yer ass huntin' you'd know a lot more about plants than ya do."

I shook my head, and looked up to the sky. "We should head back. It's going to be dark soon."

He nodded and stood, the flower in his hand. He twirled the stem in his fingers, as we started back towards the farm.

* * *

><p>Anddd here's another chapter! :) I stole my fiances DVR for the night, so I'm going to be able to write quite a bit! I may even have another chapter up tonight! Maybe :) Because I'm feeling super motivated because of everyone's wonderful feedback!<p>

I've kind of decided that I'm going to send them on another adventure between the seasons, just because I love writing this story so much, that I don't want to wait forever and a day to keep writing it. Because then I might lose my motivation for it, or lose the sense of relationship I have between Larae and Daryl since it's such a unique relationship. I just don't think I'd be able to stop writing it for a while, then jump back into it with the same feel of it that I've created.

My minds gears are turning as I come up with an idea :)

Thank you to **LadyLecter47, 85, SharonH, jstarr713, CeruleanKitten, MulishaMaiden, littlemija69****, Dalonega Noquisi, **and **LittleRin26** for your amazing reviews! You guys seriously make this story so worth writing :) And **LittleRin26**, your reviews seriously had me smiling at work all day, with all of them just right after the other.

Leave a review and let me know what you think! And I might just maybe have another chapter out tonight, or tomorrow morning! :)


	32. When Inner Demons Rage

That night, Carl had begged and begged for Jake to stay with him. So after me reluctantly letting my sleeping buddy go, Daryl and I sat in his tent after everyone had gone to sleep, except for Dale who was on watch. We had set our tent up a further distance than everyone else, so I wasn't worried that we would keep anyone awake.

I sat next to Daryl facing him, my legs crossed, as he laid back his hands behind his head. I fiddled with my fingers in my lap as I tried to think of the words to say to reason with him.

"No," he said firmly.

"But why?" I asked.

"Cause I still ain't sure that yer not gonna go an' blow yer brains out the second you get the chance," he said, staring me firmly in the eye.

"Then don't give me a gun," I said. "Give me a knife. I'll prove myself to you."

"No."

I sighed irritably. "What can I do to make you trust me?" I asked.

He laid there for a moment, looking over my face. "Jus' give me a little bit more time, Rae."

I rubbed the back of my hand across my forehead. "What else can I do?" I pressed, pulling my hair over my shoulder, and tangling my fingers in it.

He sat up on his forearms and looked me over, his face drawn. "Let me go out by myself tomorrow," he said slowly. "Show me I can let ya outta my sight without gettin' yerself into trouble."

I clenched my jaw as I thought that over. There was so much that could happen if he was alone. He could get hurt, or even lost, although he thought it wasn't possible for him to get lost. He was the great almighty Daryl Dixon. He could be killed, and we'd never know what happened. If he just somehow lost track of where he was, all it would take would be one walker.

But Daryl wouldn't lose track of where he was. I knew Daryl well enough that he never let his guard down. And I needed to be able to protect myself. I unclenched my jaw and nodded slowly. "Okay," I said finally.

He laid back in the sleeping bag. "Now lay down before I knock yer ass out," he grunted, moving over so I would have room. I sighed and climbed under the sleeping bag with him, and curled up to his side. I rested my head on his chest and wrapped my arm around his stomach. He pressed his lips to the top of my head.

I took a deep breath of his smell. I had made him shower when we got back, but somehow no matter what he did, he never lost that woodsy smell. Not that I minded. It was unique to him and only him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders as I tilted my head up to kiss him.

When his lips met mine, I could feel the urgency he was trying to hide. I could feel his other hand slide across the sleeping bag and around my hips as he rolled to his side and pulled me against him. My mind started to fog over when his fingers danced on the skin under the hem of my shirt. His thumb hooked into the waistband of my shorts as his hands moved to my stomach, causing a warm sensation in my lower stomach.

I started to pull away from his kiss, but he pulled me back and his tongue licked across my lower lip asking for entrance. I gave in after his fingers started to slide up my stomach in circles, just beneath the bra I was wearing. He started to move on top of me, and I couldn't find it in myself to push him away. I wanted this just as much as he did. He lifted my shirt over my head, and his mouth found the hollow of my neck. His hands traced up my sides, agonizingly slow. They danced circles across my ribs just beneath my bra. He slipped on under the thin fabric, causing me to arch into his body, as his teeth scrapped across my collar bone. I bit my lip to hold back the low moan that tried to escape.

He moved on quickly, kissing down my chest, over my bra and down my stomach, sending butterflies across my skin. When he reached the waist band of my shorts, he pulled them down just enough to expose my hipbones that were starting to protrude from the lack of food. When he kissed them, and started to run his tongue when I finally managed myself to pull away.

"Stop," I breathed.

"Why?" he asked, his voice low and husky. His lips found my pulse point, and his teeth bit lightly. I bit my lip and pushed him away again.

"Because we don't have condoms. And we got lucky at the CDC when I didn't miss my period," I said.

He sat up on his side, and looked down at me. I swallowed the lump in my throat when I saw the burning in his eyes that wasn't the fire from rage that was there on a daily basis. His eyes roamed up and down my body. When his eyes finally fell on my face again he let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. I took that chance to readjust my shorts and to pull my shirt back on. He laid back down, and pulled me back to the position we were originally in, where my head was resting in his shoulder.

"Dammit," he muttered, his fingers still pressed into his eyes.

"I know," I said, running my tongue over my lips. "Maybe Glenn got some at the pharmacy?" I suggested. "I could ask tomorrow."

"That ain't gonna be awkward for ya?" he asked, peering down at me.

I shook my head. "If you aren't mature enough to buy or ask for condoms, you aren't mature enough to have sex. Isn't that what my dad told us when he found out we were together?" I smiled.

He chuckled under his breath. "Go to sleep, Rae."

I curled into his side, and closed my eyes. As I started to drift to sleep, the smell of woods enveloped me.

* * *

><p>The next morning, I beat Daryl out of the tent. I walked over to where T-dog, Rick, and Andrea were standing around the truck.<p>

"Alright," Rick said. "Everyone is getting new search grids today. If she was at the farmhouse Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we thought."

"I'd like to help," Jimmy said, approaching as Daryl came up behind me, pulling a shirt on. I glanced back at him, and smiled at the fact that it was the shirt that I had stolen at the CDC. One of the only shirts he had with sleeves. "I know the area pretty well."

"Hershel okay with that?" Rick asked.

"Yeah," he said nodding. "He said I should ask you."

Rick nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

"Nothing about what Daryl found is screaming Sophia to me," Shane said, opening the truck and sitting inside. "Anyone could have hold up in that farm house."

"That includes Sophia," I said, glaring at the back of his head.

"Well, whoever slept in that cupboard was no taller than 'bout this tall," he said, motioning to about my waist.

"Good lead," Andrea said, nodding towards us.

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail," Rick said.

"I'm gonna borrow a horse," Daryl said, reaching around me to point at the map. "Head up to this ridge, get a birds eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot 'er," he said, pointing at an elevated area on the map. I pursed my lips. A bad feeling was rising in my gut, but I pushed it back. It was just me being nervous that he was going off on his own. That's all.

"Good idea," T-dog said. "Maybe while your up there, you'll see your Chupacabra up there, too."

I bit my lip to hide a laugh, when I felt Daryl stiffen.

"Chupacabra?" Rick chucked.

"What you never heard that?" Dale said appearing beside Daryl and I. "First night in camp, Daryl tells us that the while thing reminds him of when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a Chupacabra."

Jimmy laughed, and Daryl glared at him. "Whut're you brayin' at jackass?" he spat.

"So you believe in a blood sucking dog?" Rick asked.

"Ya believe in dead people walkin' around?" he retorted. I reached back and grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Jimmy reached forward to grab a gun that was sitting on the good of the truck. Rick immediately stopped him. "Ever fire one before?" Rick asked, pulling the gun away.

"Well if I'm going out there, I'm not going without one."

"Yeah," Daryl said, pulling the crossbow over his shoulder. "And people in hell want slurpees."

He started to stalk off towards the shed where the horses were kept. I chased after him quickly, not caring about the rest of the conversation.

"Promise you'll be careful?" I asked as he led one of the horses out of the stalls.

"'Course," he said, lifting a saddle to the horses back.

I furrowed my brow and crossed my arms infront of me. I still did not like this idea. At all. But I knew I had to let him go. I watched as he tightened the saddle around the horse and led it from the barn. I followed after him as we walked to the edge of the woods.

He turned to me. I hugged him tightly around the waist. "I love you," I said, pressing my lips to his.

"Love you, too," he said, ruffling my hair. "I'll be back before dark."

I nodded and stepped back so he could climb up on the saddle. He gave me a nod and disappeared into the woods. I waited there at the edge of the trees for a few moments before I turned to walk back to camp. Every step I took further away from the tree line, the more the worry built in my gut.

I was lost in my thoughts, when I almost slammed into Lori. "Sorry," I apologized quickly, with a sheepish smile. "I just got lost in la la land."

"It's okay," she smiled. She had a laundry hamper in her hands.

"Need any help?" I asked.

"That would be wonderful," she sighed. I took the laundry basket from her and followed her to the makeshift clothes line that they had sat up yesterday. I quickly lost myself in worried thoughts as I started to pin the clothes up to dry. What if he got hurt? What if he couldn't get back? What if a walker got him?

"You're going to worry yourself into the grave if you keep getting caught up in it," Lori said, making me jump. She smiled at me knowingly. "I worry about Rick all the time, too. But if you don't keep your mind off of it, you're going to go bald."

"Yeah, I guess so," I laughed lightly. "I just worry about him being out there alone," I added quietly.

"Since the first day he joined camp, he's always gone out alone. He's always come back fine," she said, resting her hand on my shoulder. "He know's his way around those woods. He'll come back to you."

I nodded, and glanced back to the trees. But why didn't that make me feel any better?

* * *

><p><strong>Daryl<strong>

"Son of a bitch!" he cursed, his head swimming as he laid in the shallow pool of the creek he was bucked into. His side was stinging in pain, and he could feel the blood starting to trickle down his head. He lifted his head up, fighting the stars in his vision, to see one of his arrows sticking through his side.

He laid his head back in the water, his breathing labored as he tried to fight his vision blacking over. That stupid fuckin' horse bucked him because of a damn tree snake. He lifted himself to a sitting position and tried to stand, but the arrow in his side cause the skin to pull. He let out a groan and collapsed back into the water.

He sat there again, trying to catch his breath. His ears were starting to ring from the pain in his head, and his side was searing. He knew standing wasn't an option yet, so he managed to pull himself over to the bank of the creek. Once on the damp sand, he could get a better look at the arrow impaled into his side.

It had gone clean through, but he knew there was no way he was going to be able to pull it out himself. He'd pass out before he managed to move it three inches. He reached for his buck knife and cut off the sleeves of the shirt Larae had stolen from him at the CDC. He tied the two sleeves together and then wrapped them around his waist, tying them around the arrow.

He groaned in pain as the tightening cloth cause the arrow to jolt in his side. But there was no way he was going to be able to go anywhere without binding the arrow still. Once the arrow wasn't going to be able to move, he sat back and stared up the cliff next to him. It was almost a sheer drop, but it was the only one that was going to be climbable, due to the falling water on the other sides around him.

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath as he forced himself to stand. He fought away the black at the edges of his vision as he moved forward to the cliff. He started for the cliff when he froze. There was a rustling in the bushes not even sixty feet away from him. His hand, as if programmed into his body reached for his crossbow, only to find the weapon missing from his back.

He looked around frantically as the rustling got closer. He picked up a stick and headed back to the water where he fell. He used the large stick to feel the bottom of the small pond to find his crossbow. He knew it couldn't have fallen far from where he fell. Shit, he had impaled himself on one of the fucking arrows.

Sifting through the water was causing the arrow in his side to sting. He bit back the pain to find the submerged weapon. He had to get back to camp, but he couldn't just do it with his buck knife. Not with being injured like he was. And there was no way in hell he was leaving his beloved weapon behind.

When the stick finally hit metal, he reached beneath the water to pull out the horton. He slowly started to make his way back to the shoreline. Once on the wet sand again, he used the large stick to help him move to the cliff. Maybe if he could get the stick wedged in the ground, he could use it to help him climb with less pain.

With a grunt of pain, he started the slow agonizing climb. Each movement felt like he was ripping his side open, and the blood was starting to trickle into his eye. When it felt like he had gone feet, he glanced down to see it had only been inches. He began to curse under his breath.

Rae was right. He shouldn't have gone alone.

He threw the stick down, and watched it tumble to the creek below him. He looked back to the top of the cliff. He was halfway there. He reached up further than he had before, but the sudden movement enveloped his side in pain, causing his grip to slip. Before he could regain his strength, his other hand lost it's strength, and he was tumbling back to the creek bed, knocking the arrow in his side.

He felt his head crack with a rock jolting out from the cliff as his body slammed to the bottom of the creek.

He wasn't sure how long he had been laying there when he really started to see again. But his head was swimming at the brink of consciousness. His senses were dull, and everything sounded as if he were standing in a tunnel.

He blinked and suddenly Merles face was before him. "Why don'tcha pull that arrow out, dummy? Ya could bind yer wound better."

He could feel the smile tug at his lips. "Merle."

Merle smiled down at him. "What's goin' on here?" he asked. "You takin' a ciesta or somethin'?"

"Had a shitty day, bro," he answered.

"Like me to get ya pillow?" Merle snorted. "Maybe rub yer feet? Or is that Rae's job now?"

"Screw you," he spat weakly.

"Well, you're the one screwed from the looks of it," Merle chuckled down at him. "All them years I spent tryin' to make a man of ya. This is what I get? Look at 'cha. Lying in the dirt like a used rubber. Yer gonna die out here, little brother. And for what?"

"Carol," he answered. "She lost her little girl."

"Rae ain't enough for ya now?" Merle sneered. "Into little girls now?"

"Shut up."

"I jus' notice, you ain't out lookin' for ol' Merle no more."

"Tried like hell to find ya, bro."

"Like hell ya did. You split man. Lit out first chance ya got."

"You let out," he said, his voice thick. "All you had to do was wait. We went back for ya. Rick and I."

"This the same Rick that handcuffed me to the roof in the first place? Caused me to cut off my own hand?" His vision blurred as he looked towards his brothers hand that was still in place. His eyes refocused as Merle spoke again. "You his bitch now?"

"I ain't nobodies bitch," he said.

"Yer a joke is what'cha are," Merle chuckled. "Playing errand boy to a buncha pansy ass, niggers and democrats. You ain't nothing but a freak to them. Redneck trash. S'all ya are. They're laughin' at'cha 'hind yer back. Ya know that don'tcha? One of these days, they're just gonna scrape ya off yer heels like ya were dog shit." He felt his vision start to fail, as consciousness started to leave him. "Hey!" Merle snapped, getting his attention. "They ain't yer kin. Hell, if you had any nuts in that sack of yers, you'd go back to camp and shoot Rick right in the face for me. Now you listen to me. Ain't nobody gonna care about ya except me, little brother."

His vision started to fade again. Except when it came back into focus, it wasn't Merle standing above him. Red hair surrounded him.

"Daryl," Larae smiled down at him. "What did you do this time?"

"Fell down a cliff, baby," he answered. "Knocked the shit outta myself."

She giggled lightly, and he could feel the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He would never admit it, but he loved it when she did that. Giggled, like she wasn't twenty years old. "You still going to come back to me?" she asked. "To us?"

"Us?" he asked, his head starting to swim.

"Camp," she smiled. "They care about you, you know. You're one of them. One of us. They may not know how to show it, but they do."

"They don't give two shit's 'bout me," he muttered.

"You don't see it," she smiled. "But you're part of this odd group. It's like a family, of sorts. I know you don't see that, because you never had a chance to experience one, but they do care about you, even if you don't realize it. They need you. I need you. You're worth so much more than this. All these years I spent trying to make you realize what a good man you are. You have honor, loyalty. You fight for the ones you care for. I've seen personally how much love you have inside of you, despite your good for nothing father, and your only halfway decent brother. You're too good of a man to lay here like this and just give up. It's not fair. When I tried, you got pissed. Took away all my weapons. If I don't get to do it, then neither do you. I need you here, baby."

He couldn't find strength to answer as his senses blurred together. "Daryl," she said quietly. "You have to come back to me. You promised."

"I don't know if I can," he admitted. "I'm tired, Rae."

"But you promised, baby."

"I ain't worth nothin' to you," he said, closing his eyes. His eyelids were so heavy.

"You're worth everything to me. I love you. You know that. You're my best friend. You always have been. So you have to get up. Come back to me. We need you there. I need you there." He felt her shake him. "Come on, baby. Wake up. Please."

The shaking got more violent. His eyes snapped open to see a walker chewing at the steel toe of his boot. He kicked the walker away, to see another coming from the bushes. Adrenaline bursted in his veins as he shot up and knocked the walker back that was on top of him. Before he could reach the crossbow next to him, the walker was on him again. He knocked it back, but scrambling for a rock buried in the sand and threw the walker back to the ground. He kneeled above it, and slammed the rock down on its face until it's skull was simply mush.

The other walker was heading for him, faster than he had seen any other move. His arrows were gone. The only arrow he had was the one in his side. While crying out in pain, he pulled the arrow from his side. The plastic feathers dug into the raw skin as they pulled through the wound. Once the arrow was free, he pulled the draw string back to much of his struggle because his side was screaming in protest. He had just barely gotten the crossbow loaded when he shot the walker, only inches away from him.

The walker fell to the ground, finally fully dead. He laid back on the sand, his breathing labored again. And his vision turned black.

* * *

><p>Biggest chapter yet! And I kept my promise! :)<p>

And just some light smut. Well, just simply because, we all need a little bit of a Norman Reedus fix.

I really wanted to get into Daryl's mind this chapter, so part of the next one will be his point of view too.

I'm really hoping I was able to capture the war waging in Daryl's mind as much as I wanted to, with how much self hate he has, versus himself wanting to think he's a good person. Daryls mind is just a tough egg to crack.

Let me know how I did! What could I do better for Daryl's point of view for the next chapter?

Leave a review and let me know what you think!

Thank you to **Dalonega Noquisi, SharonH, MulishaMaiden, **and **LittleRin26** for your reviews! :)


	33. Home Is Where Your Heart Is

"Hey, Glenn?" I asked, walking up towards him as he sat outside his tent his hat in his hands. He blinked up at me.

"Yes?" he asked.

My fingers curled around each other as I awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. "I was just wondering if um. You got any condoms at the pharmacy." I felt my face flush as the words left my mouth so quickly even I could barely understand them.

His face flushed too, and he cleared his throat. "Uh. Yeah. Just a sec," he said, standing and disappearing into his tent. I heard him shuffle around in his tent for a moment then reappear. He quickly handed me the foiled packets and I tucked them into my pocket before any eyes could see.

"Well. Um. Thanks," I said, turning on my heel and quickly walking away.

"Larae, Wait!" he called after me.

I paused and looked over my shoulder. "Yes?" I asked.

"Glad to see you two together," he said, giving me a small smile.

I returned the smile lightly, and rushed away to hide the condoms in the tent so I could go back to the kitchen and help Lori and the others.

* * *

><p><strong>Daryl<strong>

The first thing he heard was running water. As the darkness started to clear from his mind, his skin felt warm under the sun. Not hot, or humid. But warm. The light shone through his eyelids as he tried to squint away at the unforgiving light to no avail. He blinked and everything started to slowly come back into focus. The trees, the water, the sand, the sun. Where the fuck was he?

He felt his side twitch with pain. The memory hit him full force. He was lying at the bottom of a steep cliff that his horse had bucked him off into, and he had just pulled an arrow out of his side to fight off a walker. He let out an irritated sigh as he finally sat up to look at the two walkers he had taken down. He ran his hand over the wound on his temple. It was still bleeding, so he couldn't have been out for long.

He pulled himself away from the two walkers and the exposing sun. He leaned up against the trunk of a tree to catch his breath and to try and figure out his next move. He knew the only way to get out of the creek was to climb the steep cliff. It was his only option. He had been so close to the top when his strength had just given out. So close to getting back to the top where he could just walk a few miles back to the farm. Back to Larae.

He yanked the rest of his over shirt off of him and pulled a strip off of it, then ripped the strip in two. He wadded the two strips and pressed each one to both of his wounds as he used the rest of the shirt to tie them in place. The pressure on the wounds caused him to grit his teeth, but after a moment, the pain started to subside, leaving less pain than there was. Maybe he could make it to the top this time.

"Sum'bitch was right," he muttered grabbing for his crossbow that sat next to him. He lugged it over his shoulder and went to stand when his vision fogged. He reached back for the tree and braced himself as the fog slowly started to clear. His stomach groaned at him. The injury, plus not eating earlier was what was making him woozy. If only he had something to eat, maybe it would make the feat of climbing the cliff easier.

But the only thing he had was one squirrel still in his belt, and he had no way to cook it. He huffed under his breath and pushed away from the tree. But he had no other choice. He sat on a log and laid the squirrel out in front of him. He washed his knife quickly in the creek, and set forth to cut the small creature open. He could almost hear Larae having a fit next to him, over what he was doing and about to do. He shook his head to rid the noise that he knew was from the concussion he could feel in his skull. And reached into the small animal to pull the raw flesh from its bones. He bit into the muscle and pushed back the wave of nausea that hit him at the taste of the raw flesh. He had to eat it and keep it down. He had to get some strength back to him so he could climb the cliff.

He finished off the squirrel and left it out on the log. He rinsed his hands from the blood and grabbed Sophia's doll that he had laid next to him. He tucked it into his belt, and stared down at the two walkers again. Something came over him in the fog of the concussion as he reached for the strings in one of the walkers boots He tugged them out of the boot and grabbed for his knife to slice of the ears of the two twice dead bodies infront of him. He laced the shoelace through the ears, tied the ends, and placed it over his head and around his neck.

He spat at the two walkers and headed for the cliff, picking up the large stick that he had before to help him climb. As he started to climb the cliff, he was already moving faster than he had the first time. The arrow wasn't jolted in his side every time he moved, so the pain in his side wasn't as harsh as he stretched for branches and rocks just out of his reach. But it was still painful.

His breathing became haggard quickly but he kept pushing on. He had to get to the top of the cliff. Halfway up, he lost grip on the branch he was holding, and took a moment to pause and gather his strength. His head shot up at the sound of a crow.

"Please don't feed the birds," came Merle's snide voice. He tilted his head back to look at the top of the cliff to see Merles snide grin cast down at him. He let out a sigh, and reached for another branch.

"Whut'sa matter, Darlyna?" he laughed. "Is that all ya got in ya? Throw me that purse and climb."

"I did better when ya was missin'," he grumbled.

"Come on, Daryl, you're so close," Larae's voice called down. He gave another look up to the top. Merle was gone. Larae crouched down, staring down at him, worry laced on her soft features. He groaned and reached for a rock further out of his reach than all the others had been. "Come on. You can do it."

"Don't know how much longer," he breathed when his hand finally reached the rock.

Merle's laugh mocked him as he pulled himself closer to the top. "Come on," Merle sneered. "I'm on yer side!"

"Yeah? Since when?" Daryl spat.

"Since the day you was born, baby brother. Somebody had to look after yer worthless ass," Merle glared down at him.

"Ya never took care a' me!" he retorted, reaching for a vine. "If anyone did, Rae did!"

"That worthless bitch that ya went cryin' to when Pa slapped ya 'round? The one that left ya high and dry when ya broke up with her?"

"Don't talk about her like that!" he shouted up at him. "Ya talk a big game, but you was never there! Ya ain't even here now! Some things never change."

"I'll tell you what," Merle said calmly. "I'm about as real as your Chupacabra."

"I know what I saw," he muttered.

"Yeah, an' I'm sure those 'shrooms ya ate had nothin' to do with it, right?"

"You best shut the hell up!" he shouted up at his brother.

"Or what?" Merle mocked. "Ya gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me? Well come on and do it then! If ya think yer man enough! Kick off those damn high heels and climb, son! I just don't think yer gonna make it to the top!"

"Daryl, come on! You're so close! You can do it!" Larae's voice came over the mocking laugh of his brothers. He glanced up to see the two next to eachother. Merle was smiling down at him, his laugh mocking him in his ears, yet Larae was still crouched down urging him closer. "Just a little bit further. You've come so far. Don't give up. Don't give up on me. Just a few more inches. Please, baby. Come on."

"Come on, baby brother! Grab your friend Rick's hand!" Merle laughed, as both of them reached their hands down, merging into one. He reached for the hands, but found only the smooth top of the cliff. He dug his fingers into the ground and started to pull himself up, both voices leaving his ears. He stood at the top of the cliff, his eyes darting around for the two that were just there moments ago. "Yeah, ya better run!" he shouted after his brother. He started for the direction he knew where the farm was. "I'm comin', Rae."

* * *

><p>The smell of green beans, mashed potatoes, fried chicken and other various vegetables filled the kitchen to the brim. I excused my self quietly, to go outside and switch shifts with Andrea. I passed Hershel on the way to front door and gave him a smile, which he returned. I quickly walked outside and down the front steps, the head from the Georgia sun pounding down on me. I sighed and tied my hair at the base of my neck and started for the RV.<p>

I could have stayed in the kitchen to help, but I was getting antsy waiting for Daryl. He had been gone way to long for my liking. Maybe if I took watch, it would help pass the time as I waited for his figure to come from the trees.

I heard shouting and I glanced up from my feet to see Rick, Shane and T-dog running for a figure coming out of the woods. I paused for a second. Was that Daryl? It looked like his figure. I picked up my pace as Andrea dropped down on the RV with the rifle. The sound of the rifle sounded from behind me as I passed the RV, and the figure dropped to the ground.

"NO!" Rick screamed. "NO!"

I felt my heart stop. My feet were tripping over themselves as I broke out in a sprint to the three men standing at the tree line. Dread filled my body as I got closer and saw them gathered around the figure.

"Daryl!" I breathed as they lifted the body from the ground. "Daryl!" I shouted. "Oh god," I breathed when I finally reached the men. My hands found Daryl's face causing them to stop. His head hung limply in my hands as I pushed away his blood matted hair from his face.

"He's just unconscious, Larae," Shane assured me. I suddenly felt the tears that were on my face. "He was awake a few seconds ago. I pulled away from them, and my hands covered my mouth as they started for the farm house again. I followed after them.

"Oh my god!" I heard Andrea's voice approaching. "Oh my god, is he dead?" I shoved passed her as we walked passed her breathing hard, staring eye wide at Daryl. She's the one who shot him. This was her fault.

"Unconscious. You just grazed him," Rick said through grit teeth.

"What the hell happened?" Glenn said, approaching. "He's wearing ears!"

"Let's keep that to ourselves," Rick said yanking the necklace from him.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Andrea said from behind us. I froze where I was walking and spun around to her. I felt the rage bubble up in my shoulders as she paused only inches away. I felt my hand swinging before I realize I was moving. There was a sharp noise as my palm came in contact with her cheek. She yanked away from me, but I grabbed her shirt and felt my knuckles hit the same cheek. I shoved her away and to the ground and rushed after the men, Daryl still limp between them.

The men either didn't notice what I did, or ignored me as T-dog reached for something in Daryl's belt.

"Guys? Isn't this Sophias?" he asked. We all turned to see him holding the rag doll that never left Sophia's side. Andrea was just starting to pull herself up from the ground, her hand pressed to her cheek.

"Get him inside," I urged. "Please."

They turned back to the house and headed for Hershel. I glared at Andrea and followed after.

* * *

><p>"I found it washed up on the creek bed. She must have dropped it crossing there," Daryl said as he laid on his side while Hershel stitched his side. I sat next to him on the bed, and held a cloth to his head where Andrea's bullet grazed his temple. My other hand held his and Rick pointed to various areas on the map.<p>

"That cuts the grid almost in half," Rick said, glancing back at Shane.

"Yeah, yer welcome," Daryl said, watching Hershel sew his side.

"How is he?" I asked.

"I had no idea we'd be going through the anti-biotic's so quickly," Hershel sighed. "Any idea what happened to my horse?" he asked stepping away to wash his hands in a bowl of water.

"The one that almost killed me? If it was smart, it left the country," he spat.

"We call that one Nelly. As in, Nervous Nelly. I would have told you that if you had bothered to ask," Hershel said, giving him a small glare. "It's a wonder you people have survived this long," he continued to Rick.

Slowly, one by one everyone left the room leaving Daryl and I alone. I cleaned the dirt and blood off of him with the bowl of water that was left and a rag. As I rubbed the grime from his skin, we sat in silence. I couldn't meet his eyes as he watched me clean away the dirt. I wasn't sure how long it took, but the sun was setting in the window when I finished the best I could. I stood from the bed to stretch my legs for a moment and to set the bowl aside. I sat next to him again and adjusted slightly, so that his head rested in my lap as I leaned back against the headboard. I let my fingers tangle themselves in his hair, careful of the gunshot wound.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you go out there alone today," I said quietly. "Something told me I shouldn't."

He stared up at me. "Ya had no way of knowin'," he said, his eyes meeting mine.

I pursed my lips. "You made me promise that I wouldn't get into any trouble. And I didn't. But then you go and almost get yourself killed."

A knock on the door kept him from answering. Carol poked her head inside the room. "Dinner's ready. Are you going to join us?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I'm going to stay here with him," I answered. She nodded and glanced at Daryl who was covering himself up in the sheet to hide his scars from her. She closed the door and her footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

"I won't go out alone again," he said quietly.

"What if you hadn't come back today?" I asked, tears pooling in my eyes.

"Don't worry 'bout that," he said, his hand reaching up for my face. "I did come back." I closed my eyes and leaned my cheek into his hand. I felt his thumb brush away moisture from my cheek. "Don't do that."

I looked away from him and his hand dropped. I let out a shaky sigh as I urged the tears away from my eyes. When I was finally able to blink them away, I looked back down at him. He stared up at me, his lips pursed in a tight line.

"I almost lost you today, Daryl," I said quietly. He chewed his lip and I could see his mind trying to figure out what to say.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. I sighed and he sat up and pressed his lips to mine. I kissed him back and his hand tangled itself in my hair and he pulled me closer to him. He pulled away and pressed his forehead to mine. I laid my hand on top of his as he stared into my eyes.

"I love you, ya know that, right?" he said quietly.

"Yes," I answered. "I love you too."

"Yer the reason I came back to day. Every time I wanted to give up, I knew I had to keep going. I had to come back for ya. I kept pressin' on 'cause I knew ya wouldn't want t' go on without me. So I came back. For you."

I closed my eyes as he spoke, and let his words surround me. He pulled away from my forehead and pressed his lips where he pulled away. With his lips still connected to my forehead he spoke again.

"Will you marry me?"

* * *

><p>Hello again after what seems like an eternity! I'm super sorry about the long wait! I have almost literally been living at work, and haven't had any time to get somewhere with internet. Please forgive me! I'm hoping after these next few weeks, we'll finally have internet! So please, be just a little more patient with me, although I don't deserve it!<p>

Super super fluffy chapter towards the end! :) Hopefully it's not to the point of cheesy! Unless you like cheesy. If so, let it be so cheesy that you can swim in it. I hope I did Daryl justice, once again! :)

Thank you to **Darkangel8583, 85, MulishaMaiden, CeruleanKitten, LittleRin26, LadyLecter47, jstarr713, JulesLillianTeller **and **Dalonega Noquisi** for your amazing reviews! I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible for you all!

And to answer **LittleRin26**, I technically come from the south, haha. I'm from Oklahoma, so I don't know if that's considered southern enough to be able to write Daryl's lingo :)


	34. Secrets Could Mean Death

"Wh-...what?" I blinked sitting back. My face flushed as he pressed another kiss into my lips.

"Will you marry me?" he asked again, his lips brushing mine as he spoke.

I couldn't find my words as he pulled away. I felt my jaw drop to answer, but no noise came out. He had completely thrown me through a loop. My mind completely blanked and wasn't forming the ability to form words. Or even really process what he said as he stared at me waiting for an answer.

"How?" I asked finally. He reached up and pushed my bangs away from my face. His hand twisted down the side of my hair and pulled it over my shoulder.

"Jus' need someone t' say the right words, I guess. An' us to say I do. Gotta have a bible, too, or it ain't gonna count."

I pursed my lips. "Where did this come from?"

"Cause we ain't sure how much longer we got anymore. I realized that today. An' I want to be able to call ya my wife before somethin' happens to us. I shoulda done this a long time ago. The day ya turned eighteen."

I chewed my lip as I studied his face. He was staring directly into my eyes, his blue eyes piercing something deep in my chest. My heart fluttered when his had reached up to my forehead and traced along the light scar that was left from the rock in the forest so many weeks ago. His finger traced down my temple, over my cheek bone and down my chin. He held my chin in his hands as he continued to stare into my heart.

"Well?" he asked.

I couldn't find words. I just stared at him, my mind trying to wrap around his question. Marry him? During the apocalypse?

"I..I don't know," I said finally. He stared at me in question. "I just..I don't know. I don't..I just have to think about it. I have to wrap my head around it."

He nodded, and kissed me. He laid down on his side that wasn't stitched, and pulled me down next to him. I laid facing him and tucked my head under his chin. I closed my eyes and he rested his chin on the top of my head.

I wasn't sure how long we sat there like that, just being in each others presence. As I laid next to him, I kept thinking of how close I was to losing him. If the walker had told us about hadn't just been chewing on his shoe. Or if the hadn't had been able to get the arrow out of his side. Or if he had hit his head just right, just hard enough, on a rock. Then he asked me to marry him. Were we even together, really? I thought so. But how would marriage in the apocalypse work? I could loose him at any time. He could just be pulled right out of my hands, and there would be nothing that I could do.

A knock on the door caused me to sit up. Carol entered the room, two plates in her hands. Daryl yanked the sheets up over his chest and back to hid his scars from her eyes. "I brought you two some dinner," she smiled, lightly.

"Thank you," I said quietly returning the smile. Daryl didn't answer as he glanced back at her. She sat the two plates down on the side table and went to exit the room before she turned back to Daryl.

"I need you to know something," she said. "You did more for my little girl today than her daddy did in her entire life."

"I didn't do nothing Rick or Shane wouldn'ta done," he scoffed, moving uncomfortably under the sheets. She leaned down, and Daryl flinched towards me. She paused and moved closer kissing the bandage on his head lightly.

"I know," she said, walking towards the door. "Your every bit as good as them. Every bit."

I glanced down at Daryl as Carol exited the room. He stared into the air, his brow drawn. He pulled the sheet up to his chin, and closed his eyes. I ran my fingers through his hair, and leaned my head back on the head board and closed my eyes.

* * *

><p>"Daryl, Hershel told you that it would be a bad idea to move around like this. I told you too," I said, watching him slowly move towards our tent. He grumbled under his breath and I sighed as he stopped again to lean forward and catch his breath. His hand was glued to his side, clutching at the stitches. We were barely halfway across the road and he was already sweating like he had been out doing hard labor for hours. His breathing was deep and shaky, but he insisted on going to the tent.<p>

Jake followed after us, his tail wagging happily and licking my bare legs and hand. I slept in the house with Daryl the night before and he slept with Carl again. So Jake had been glued to my side since I left the bedroom.

We slowly crossed the yard, while I was close at his side incase he fell. He refused to let me help him. He muttered and grunted something about me being completely useless until I wanted to do something that would help piss him off. So I just rolled my eyes and let him limp his way to the tent.

It took half an hour to reach the tent. When he finally stumbled into the tent he collapsed back on a cot that Hershel was letting us use. He laid back on the cot for a second, catching his breath, and then pulled himself fully back to rest his head on the pillow. I shook my head as he gave me a smug smirk. I sat next to him on the cot as he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. Jake laid on the floor of the tent, resting his head on his paws and let out a sigh.

I kicked off my shoes and crossed my legs on the cot, giving Daryl as much room as possible. Daryl ran his hand over his side where the stitches were. I slapped his hands away from them.

"Stop, or you'll rip them," I chided.

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his stomach and stared out the tent window as the wind blew the leaves on the tree above us. His hand reached down next to the cot and he lifted the arrow that had impaled his side. He twisted the arrow in his hands, and his eyes watched as the arrow head spun.

"Is that your last arrow?" I asked.

"Yeah," he grunted. "Only arrow I could find when I dropped the crossbow in the creek. Not sure where the others went."

"What are you going to do?"

"Prolly make some. An' I got a gun," he shrugged. He flinched and ran his hand over his stitches again. I slapped his hands away from it again.

"You're like a damn child. I tell you not to do something, and you go and do it," I said glaring lightly at him. "Next time I'll just put tabasco sauce on your hands so it'll sting like shit when you touch it."

He glared at me. "I wish ya'd go the hell away or shut the hell up an' lemmie alone," he grunted.

I scoffed as he started to stab holes into the mesh window of the tent with the arrow, ignoring me. I was about to open my mouth when Andrea approached the tent.

"Hey," she said, ducking her head inside. I felt a small amount of satisfaction build in my chest when I saw a light bruise on her cheek bone and a split in her lip. She glanced at me then back to Daryl quickly. She entered the tent, and I noticed a book in her hand.

"This is not that great," she said apologetically handing him the book.

He took the book from her and opened it, flipping the pages quickly. "What, no pictures?" he asked, glancing at her.

"I'm so sorry, I feel like shit," she sighed.

"Yeah, you an' me both," he said, adjusting the pillow behind his head.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but if there's anything I can do..." her voice trailed off and she sighed again.

"Ya were tryin' to protect the group. We're good."

I blinked at Daryl and felt a spark of anger. I glared at Andrea and stormed out of the tent whistling for Jake to follow.

* * *

><p>Daryl<p>

"Now if only she felt that way," Andrea sighed.

Daryl chewed on his lip as he watched the red head storm away from the tent, her dog pressed into her side.

"Don't go an' expect that any time soon," he grunted.

"I didn't think someone so small could hit so hard," the blonde chuckled, her fingers grazing over the bruise.

"Look's like the damn devil, don't she? When she's mad?" Andrea looked at him oddly. "The way her hair gets all ruffled, looks like fire 'round her head. And her eyes get a really bright shade o' green. Always reminds me of how the devil would look if he was a woman."

Andrea let out a quiet laugh and stood from the cot. She nodded towards him and started to leave the tent.

"But hey," he called after her. She turned to look at him. "Shoot me again, you best pray I'm dead."

* * *

><p>Larae<p>

I stormed off towards the horse stall. Jake followed after me, his tail down as he stared up at me. I muttered a stream of curses towards Andrea, and then added a few for Daryl. She had shot him, and now he was just okay with her shooting him? The bullet must have knocked a few more screws loose than I thought, because in my own opinion, she was a trigger happy idiot, that needed to never touch another gun. Ever.

I walked into the horse stall, and sat on a pile of hay. Jake sat next to me, and curled into my side. As I sat in the hay, I heard hushed voices arguing. I stood from the hay, and quietly commanded Jake to stay. I quietly moved to where I could peak around the corner that hid the two voices. Dale and Hershel were glaring at each other. Dale turned away from Hershel, and I quietly scrambled away from the corner and back a few steps. I started back for the corner and Dale jumped when he came around the corner.

"Oh, Larae, I didn't hear you come in," he smiled nervously.

"Sorry," I smiled. "Just came to see if Hershel needed any help with the horses."

"Oh. You didn't uh. Hear anything, did you?" he asked.

"Um. No? Why?" I asked, trying my best to play innocent. I really hadn't heard anything.

"Just wondering," he said giving me a relieved smile. "I'll see you tonight for dinner?" he asked.

I nodded and he gave me a smile, and left the stalls. I waited for Dale to leave before I peaked around the corner to make sure Hershel hadn't heard me. But he was engrossed in brushing a horses coat. So I ducked away from the corner and walked back to Jake. I patted my leg for him to follow me and he stood from the hay and followed happily after him.

I stood outside the horse stalls and sighed. There was no other place for me to go to get away from Daryl. Except the barn. I turned towards the dark looming barn, but something in my gut told me not to go near it. I shifted my weight on my feet and turned back to walk back to the tent. Maybe he was passed out and I wouldn't have to deal with him.

* * *

><p>That night I laid next to Daryl on the cot. He was turned towards me, looking over my face as I tried to ignore him and stare up at the top of the tent. I had my hand reached down and tangled in Jake's fur as he slept on a pile of clothes I got for him.<p>

"Ya can't ignore me forever," he said finally.

"Sure I can," I muttered, glaring above me.

"She ain't worth gettin' so flustered over," he said.

"She is when she shot you and just barely grazed your head," I said giving him a glare. "And then you go and forgive her."

"I ain't forgivin' her," he said rolling his eyes. "I'm jus' not gettin' worked up over it like ya are. It ain't worth stayin' mad over."

"She almost killed you."

"I'm still here, ain't I?"

I glared at him again. Before I could look away, he grabbed my face and kissed me. I tried to fight him away, but he held me to him, and didn't stop kissing me until I finally gave up and kissed him back.

He pulled away, a satisfied look on his face and pulled me into his side. "Go to sleep, Rae," he said.

"Fuck you," I said, closing my eyes.

"Love you, too."

* * *

><p>Carol had managed a few eggs from the Green's for our breakfast. We all sat around the fire, quiet and caught up in our own thoughts. Daryl sat in a lawn chair, and I sat at the ground next to him, feeding Jake his portion of the eggs. Plus, some of mine to the disdain of Daryl.<p>

We all looked up as Glenn stood in front of us all and spoke nervously. "U-um...Guys?" He stood in front of us, and twisted his hat in his hands as he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and swallowed. He ran his hand over his face and went back to twisting his hat. I glanced back to Jake, Glenn losing my attention as he stood there in front of us.

"The barn is full of walkers."

* * *

><p>Gah. I'm really not a big fan of this chapter. But I'm at my mom's house for the night because there's supposed to be some pretty severe weather coming in over night. And I'm completely exhausted and half a sleep as I wrote this because I worked a 13 hour day today, and an 11 hour one the day before. So I'm really really super super sorry if this chapter sucks. I'll try my best to get a better one out quickly!<p>

Larae just likes to complicate her relationship with Daryl. :)

Let me know what you think! You all keep me super motivated still, even when I have no way to write! I have an idea for after season two ends, and I'm excited to start writing it! I really hope it doesn't disappoint! :)

And I apologize it's so short. I tried my hardest, I'm just so tired, I can barely keep my eyes open as I type.

Thank you to **CeruleanKitten, Dalonega Noquisi, Sharon H, LittleRin26, MulishaMaiden, jstarr713 **and **LadyLecter47** for your lovely reviews! :)


	35. Announcement

I'm so so so so sorry if I got everyones hopes up for an update :(. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am so so very sorry for the lack of my updating. I've had so much shit going on in my life that writing is never a thing I think about.

My fiancé and I broke up pretty recently after my last update, and it was pretty unexpected. So thinking about love and writing about Daryl and Larae being in love kinda made me sick to my stomach. But I'm getting over it and decided to give him a nice big fuck you and come over to my moms and update for you guys. So there will be a chapter tonight! I promise.

And I'm going to try my hardest to come over here weekly to update for you all, if not more often than that. I hope you all can forgive me :)

Now off I go to write a love filled mushy (maybe steamy) chapter for you all in hopes of forgiveness.


	36. Sparks Of Anger

It was almost as if it took a moment for Glenn's words to sink into our brains. Everyone's eyes were suddenly locked on Glenn as if they were hoping that he would burst out laughing and say it was a joke. But when it was clear that it was just as serious as it sounded, every able body rushed to the worn wooden barn. Daryl, Jake and I came up last as they circled the door to the barn.

Daryl kept me just behind him as Shane slowly moved forward to the door. Jake stood stiffly at my side when his nose picked up the smell of rotting diseased flesh hidden behind the doors. I felt fear bubbling up in my stomach as Shane stepped closer one slow step at a time. I reached my hand out and grabbed for Daryl's hand. He squeezed it tightly in reassurance, but I could still see the nervousness in his shoulders. My other hand found Jake's collar as his fur started to stand and a growl sounded through his chest.

Shane leaned forward to look through one of the cracks between the boards of the door that was padlocked with a tightly wrapped chain. He jumped back when a loud bang sounded on the door with groans and teeth clattering following behind. I could almost see the steam coming from him as he marched up to Rick.

"You can not tell me you're okay with this," he seethed as he pushed passed him.

"No, I'm not," Rick hissed back. "But we're guests here, this isn't our land."

I chewed my lip as I glanced back to the barn when Shane whirled around. "This is our lives, man!" he all but shouted at Rick.

"Lower your voice!" Glenn pleaded, glancing up at the house nervously.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug!" Andrea said, throwing her arm at the barn and glaring at Rick.

"It ain't right," T-dog said, shaking his head.

"We have to go in there, and we have to make things right, or we just have to go," Shane paced. "Now we've been talking about Fort Benning for a long time-"

"We can't go!" Rick said glaring at him.

"Why, Rick? Why?"

"Cause my daughter is still out there," Carol said stepping forward.

Shane's hands found their way to his face as he pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes. He let out an irritated sigh as he spoke. "Carol, I think it's time that we all just start considering the other possibility."

I felt Daryl stiffen. My hand slid up his arm to the crook of his elbow to keep him from pouncing on the larger man.

"We're not leaving Sophia behind," Rick said.

"We're close to findin' this little girl!" Daryl said stepping forward, pulling me with him. Jake adjusted under my hand as his collar was pulled forward. "I jus found her damn doll two days ago!" he said with his voice rising in volume. He yanked his arm from my grip as he started to pace, his eyes locked on Shane.

"You found her doll Daryl, that's what you did. You found a doll," Shane spat towards Daryl, venom seeping from his voice. I braced myself to grab for Daryl before he could get his fists on Shane.

"Ya don't know whut the hell yer talkin' about!" Daryl shouted, stepping closer to Shane. I mimicked his steps, releasing Jake's collar as he sensed the rising tension and pulled away to stand next to Carl. Rick stepped forward and put his arm between the two as Shane puffed up at Daryl's words.

"I'm just saying what needs to be said!" Shane's voice rose.

"Shane!" Rick said, pushing him back, his voice growing louder than the larger man. "Let me tell you something else, man," Shane whirled on Rick to push him away. He turned back to Daryl who stepped even closer. I pursed my lips and moved forward with him, ready to grab for him. "If she was really out there and she saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction!"

Daryl shot for Shane before I could react. His fist flew towards Shane's face as I darted forward and grabbed him by the back of the shirt and Rick pushed himself between him. I wrapped my arms around Daryl's stomach as he kept trying to grab for Shane as he started to swing for Daryl. I yanked back as hard as I could, careful of his stitches I held him tight, my cheek pressed against his back so he couldn't break free of my grip. I could hear his ragid, rapid breathing as rage shuddered in his body. Rick was shouting towards Shane while I held Daryl back from attacking again.

"Keep your hands off of me," Shane spat storming towards camp.

"Just let me talk to Hershel," Rick shouted after him. "Just let me figure it out!"

Shane was on Rick in the blink of an eye. "Man what to you have to figure out?" he screamed, his neck bulging and his eyes practically on fire.

"Enough!" Lori screamed at him, shoving him in the chest.

"If we're going to stay, if we're going to clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land!" Rick said, glaring at Shane.

"Hershel see's those things as people!" Dale stepped in. "Sick people. His wife. His step son."

"You knew?" Rick asked, bewilderment in his voice.

"I knew yesterday, I talked to Hershel."

I pursed my lips as a light bulb went off in my head. That's what they were arguing about. Dale didn't want me to know about the walkers because I would have told Daryl. Daryl was still shaking, even more violently than before as the adrenaline started to wear off from his blood. I loosened my grip on his middle, but didn't fully let go.

"And you waited the night?" Shane snapped.

"I thought we could last one more night!" Dale snapped back. "And we did. I was waiting until this morning to say something. But Glenn wanted to be the one to tell you."

"Man, this is crazy. If Hershel thinks those things are people-"

I jumped as the barn doors started to shake. Daryl reached his arms back to shield me from the doors lurching forward. Jake was suddenly in front of us, pressed low to the ground, and fur standing on end, his growls melting with the walkers.

"Oh my God," I breathed, glancing around Daryl.

"C'mon," he said, stepping away from the barn. "Let's go back to th' camp."

I nodded and released my grip from him and wrapped my arms around his. I whistled for Jake and he snarled towards the barn and followed behind, his eyes never leaving the barn. I gave the barn one last long look and we headed back to camp.

* * *

><p>"What do you think about the barn?" I asked, sitting on the cot. Jake sat loyal at my feet and rested his head on my knee. I scratched behind his ears as Daryl paced the tent.<p>

"Hershel's fuckin' stupid," he muttered. "It's jus' a matter of time before those them damn walkers get out."

"What should we do?" I asked.

"Clear 'em out. Get rid of 'em." I pursed my lips. I felt Daryl's eyes on me. "Don't tell me ya don't agree with me."

"He think's they're his family, Daryl," I said looking up at him. "If my dad hadn't been trying to tear me open when I found him, then I probably wouldn't have wanted you to kill him either. And if you had even though I told you not to, I probably would have never forgiven you."

"They ain't alive, Rae. If they get out, they're jus gonna try and eat ya."

"It doesn't matter," I said, shaking my head. "Like Rick said, it's his land. It's his barn. It's his family."

He scoffed at me and turned to exit the tent.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"T' look for Sophia. Get yer head on straight by the time we get back," he spat at me.

I bit back my retort as he stormed away from the tent. I let out a sigh and looked down to Jake who looked up at me, eyes wide as his tail started to wag. I smiled at him, and patted his head.

"He's a dick, isn't he?" I asked down to him.

His tail started to pick up speed as I spoke. I let out a small laugh and sat back on the cot. I stared up at the roof to the tent and sighed. Daryl really did know how to be a dick, and he was very good at being one. I looked back down at Jake.

"Want to take a walk?" I asked.

He was on his feet immediately, tail wagging so fast it was a blur. I stood from the cot and exited the tent, making sure to zip it shut behind me. I looked around the farm to decide on which direction to go. I knew I needed to stay close to the house and camp, but I still wanted to put some distance in between. I decided to head towards a large tree in the distance, the opposite direction of the barn, with a large stack of wood beneath it. I started heading to it, Jake trotting next to me.

I knew Daryl would be pissed when he found out I left camp, but I knew I would be okay with Jake. Nothing would be able to get close to me without Jake hearing or smelling it first. The grass brushed the bare skin above my ankles as we crossed the field. The heat from the sun caused my skin to tingle and I could feel the sweat starting to rise from my skin. I reached up to tie my hair back as Jake sniffed the ground, breathing in the smell of the late summer grass. It would only be a matter of time before the nights started to get cold, and the snow started to fall.

As we approached the tree, I leaned against the stack of wood, as Jake sniffed around. I smiled down at him as he focused on one spot and took in a deeper sniff than the others. He pressed his nose to that one spot for a few more seconds before he moved on to the next spot.

I heard foot steps approaching and glanced up to see Daryl storming towards me. I inwardly rolled my eyes and went back to staring at my feet as he stood in front of me.

"Whut the fuck are ya doin' out here?" he snapped.

"Getting my head on straight," I said simply.

"Are ya a fuckin' idiot?" he hissed at me. I rolled my eyes as he stood firm in front of me. "Ya ain't got a weapon to protect ya!"

"I have Jake," I argued, still not meeting his eyes.

"Ya can't go off like this on yer own," he said. I could feel his glare on me.

"Neither can you," I said, glaring at his feet. I could feel anger spark somewhere inside me.

"Don't turn this on me, Rae."

"Why? You said you wouldn't. Then you turn around and try to the second you get pissed at someone. Why aren't you gone anyway?"

"Carol told me not to, said she don't know if she thinks that girl is alive either. So if she ain't gonna have any hope that she is, I ain't goin' out."

"So because Carol told you not to, you're not going? But when you promise me you won't, it doesn't matter?"

"Rae, shut up. Ya know it ain't like that."

I shoved away from the stack of wood and glared up at him, finally meeting his eyes. "How do I know it isn't like that?" I spat, shoving his chest. "Your promises to me don't mean anything! It's always been like that! Always!"

"Whut the fuck are ya goin' on about?" he glared.

"Anytime you promised me anything, you never kept it! I'm the only one who put's forth any effort between us! You tell me no weapons, and I say okay! You tell me to never try to kill myself again, I say okay, even though there's nothing left in this shit hole of a world! You tell me that you'll never go out there alone again, and yet two days later you still try! But no, the second Carol says not to, you turn your happy ass around and head back to camp!" I was yelling by the end. I could feel my muscles shaking.

"Ya don't know whut the fuck yer talkin' about, Rae. Just shut up and go back to camp," he muttered.

"Don't tell me to shut up!" I screamed at him. I shoved passed him. "Fuck you, Daryl. Fuck you. I hate you!" I shouted back to him.

I felt him grab my wrist. I tried to yank away but his hand held firm around my wrist. I finally gave up trying to struggle away and stood facing away from him, breathing hard and staring hard at the ground.

"Look at me," I heard him say.

"No."

"Rae."

"Fuck off."

He yanked my wrist so that I had to turn towards him. He pulled my wrist to him, so that I bumped into his chest. His hand still held my wrist, but his other arm slid around my waist and pulled me close to him. "Look at me."

When I didn't respond, he let go of my wrist, grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him. "Ya don't know whut the fuck yer talkin' about," he said. I could feel his breath grazing my skin. Before I could snap at him, his lips crashed into mine. He kissed me hard, and I felt my anger at him sliding off my shoulders, as his arm pulled me tighter into him. I snaked my arms up around his neck and his free hand slid down my side to the hem of my shirt. He spun around and pushed my back into the bark of the tree. My breathing hitched as his fingers brushed under my shirt just at where my shorts started.

I bucked my hips into his as his hand started to travel further up and dance circles on my stomach. His teeth bit at my bottom lip when my fingers knotted in his hair. I moaned into his mouth when his hand completely ignored my bra, pushing the cloth away and grabbing for the skin beneath.

"Larae?" Carl's voice called from a distance, causing Daryl and I to separate quickly. I adjusted my clothes as a blush crept to my cheeks as I looked towards Carl's voice. I could see him running towards us, still too far away to be able to see the scene just a moment ago. "Can I play with Jake?" he called, still running towards us.

"Sure," I called back, making sure my voice didn't crack.

"Jake!" Carl called. Jake's head snapped up from the spot in the ground he was digging at, completely oblivious to Daryl and I. He looked towards me, I motioned to Carl. Jake took off running for Carl to meet halfway in the field. I cleared my throat, and cast Daryl a glance. He was raking his fingers through his hair, smoothing out where I had messed it up.

"We should uh. Head back to camp," I said.

He grunted in reply, grabbed my hand and started to pull me back to the others.

* * *

><p>"I need t' apologize to Carol," Daryl said as he watched the mother across camp from the lawn chair he claimed while he cleaned his crossbow.<p>

"Why?" I asked glancing up at him from his feet where I leaned against his leg reading one of the books I borrowed from Maggie.

"I called her a bitch."

I snorted. "You sure are a dumbass, aren't you?" I asked him. He glared at me and stood from his chair. He looked at the crossbow in his hands and back at Carol. "Don't worry, Daryl. I can watch your baby for you while you go and play nice. No, I won't put an arrow through my head." He glanced down at me. "Or Andrea's."

He shook his head and walked towards Carol. They exchanged some quiet words, and headed into the woods. I smiled as I watched his back disappear into the woods. I sighed, and returned my attention back to the book in my lap, putting the thoughts of the barn full of walkers in the back of my mind.

* * *

><p>And here's the chapter I promised! :) I hope it's good enough for you all to forgive me! I really am truly sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'm really going to try my hardest to update once a week.<p>

This was a very angry chapter, haha. I was glad to finally be able to show a little bit more of Laraes' temper. It's so much fun to write :)

Thank you to **LittleRin26, JTellersOldLady, Dalonega Noquisi, SharonH, LadyLecter47, LittleMija69, JavaNut, **and **mistressofdarkness666 **(hugs are much appreciated haha) for your reviews! Even though I haven't updated, they really really do mean alot.

Leave a review and let me know what you think! Even if it's just to tell me to get my shit together and update faster :). Even the lurkers!


	37. When Hope Dies

"_Daryl?" I called into the dark and quiet Dixon home. I had stood outside knocking on the door for the last ten minutes before I got fed up and just poked my head inside, which was something I would never do if the Dixon brother's father was home, which he rarely was. But his truck was no where to be seen, so I tested my luck. "Daryl?" I called again, stepping inside the house and shutting the door behind me. _

_I had just gotten off the school bus, and immediately rushed over to his house because he hadn't been at school that day. I knew that his dad had been home that night because Daryl was having dinner with me my dad, and John Dixon had barged over to the house and almost broke the door down he was banging on it so loud. _

_My dad tried to calm him down but John wasn't listening. He screamed for Daryl to get home now. Daryl simply hung his head, and reached behind him to make sure that the invitation to my thirteenth birthday party next week was folded up and hidden in his pocket. I didn't see him for the rest of the night._

_I set my backpack down next to the door and walked back to the hallway where Daryl's bedroom door was shut, but I could see light pouring out from the bottom of the door. I turned the door knob and pushed it open, startling Daryl into a sitting position on his bed where he had been sleeping. _

_I felt my jaw drop when I saw his face. His eye was swollen shut and purple, his lip was busted open in two places, and the bridge of his nose was bruised. He tried to cover his bare chest with a sheet, but I saw the damage before he could. Dark bruises littered his arms in the shape of had prints, other bruises covered his body with old scars from previous beatings, but there was a deep gash across his chest that looked like it was going to split open any moment. _

"_Oh my god," I breathed, rushing forward and pulling the blanket away from him. "Why didn't you call my dad?" I said, reaching out for his face._

_He turned his face from me, and glared at the wall with his good eye. "Whut would he a' done?" _

_I pursed my lips. "Helped as best as he could." _

"_Yer dad's got too much t' worry 'bout."_

"_Then let me help," I insisted. I didn't know much, but I knew enough to know that if someone didn't clean that cut out before too long, it would get infected. And I knew Daryl wasn't going to go to a doctor. He didn't say anything so I left the room to head to their bathroom. I opened the medicine cabinet, ignoring John and Merle's syringes and rubber bands to grab peroxide and gauze. I went back to Daryl's room where he had turned to hang his legs off the bed. I sat next to him and he turned towards me, eyeing the peroxide._

"_That shit's gonna burn," he muttered. _

"_Well maybe if you had called my dad, you could have gotten out of using it," I said, giving him a small smile. He scoffed and turned his head away from me. I pursed my lips and wet the gauze with the peroxide and gently patted it against the gash._

_Daryl hissed at the stinging sensation as the bubbles set to work cleaning out the wound. I gave him an apologetic smile and slowly started to move across the gash with the peroxide. "How did he do this?" I asked quietly._

"_Belt," he said simply. I chewed my lower lip thinking about how hard he would have had to hit Daryl to cause a gash like this. I decided to change the subject to get his mind off of it._

"_How does it feel to know you're going to be seventeen in a few months?" I asked. _

"_Jus' like I'm gonna be one year closer to gettin' away from my dad," he said simply. "What about you? How does it feel to be almost thirteen?" _

_I shrugged. "Nothing special."_

"_You are special though."_

_I looked up to meet his eyes. I felt a blush creep into my cheeks when I met his eyes directly. I glanced back down to the gash on his chest and ignored his eyes._

* * *

><p>I sat on the porch with Beth, Patricia and Carl helping Carl with an English assignment that Lori gave him. Jake laid at our feet, dozing in and out of reality. English had been one of the only subjects in school I had been good at and enjoyed, so teaching Carl was relatively easy.<p>

Maggie and Glenn were sitting on the front steps, talking quietly and giggling under their breath. And other than us, the farm was silent, except for the cicadas in the trees. Everyone had up and disappeared for the last few hours,

Carl was just about to finish his assignment, when I heard foot steps approaching.

"Do you know what's going on?" T-dog asked.

I turned my head and saw Andrea and T-dog walking up to the house from the barn. I saw someone else approaching in the corner of my eye and saw Daryl and Carol quickly making their way up to the house. I stood from my seat and Jake stood with me and followed me down the steps.

"Where is everyone?" Andrea asked.

"You haven't seen Rick?" Glenn answered.

"He went off with Hershel, we were supposed to leave a couple of hours ago."

"Yeah, ya were," Daryl said, once he was in ear shot. I made my way to him, passed the group, and wrapped one of my arms around his waist, as he came to a stop in front of everyone. "Whut the hell?"

"Rick told us he was going out," Carol said, standing just ahead of Daryl.

"Dammit, ain't anyone takin' this seriously?" Daryl snapped, pulling away from me. "We got us a damn trail!" he spat, turning and throwing his arm at the woods.

As I followed his eyes, I saw Shane coming up to the house quickly, the bag of guns over his shoulder. Shane locked eyes with Daryl as he walked by and held out a shot gun.

"Whut's all this?" Daryl asked, eyeing the gun.

"Are you with me or not?" Shane asked. Daryl gave the gun a glance, then back up to Shane as he grabbed for the gun. Before I could say anything to him, he followed after Shane, who was on a hot trail to the barn.

I heard Andrea ask something that I didn't catch. Shane muttered something in reply as I grabbed for Daryl as he walked passed me.

"I thought we couldn't carry," I argued, trying to detour them from the barn. Daryl gave me a look, but I still held tight to his arm.

"Well, now we have to," Shane said, brushing me off and handing T-dog a gun. "Hey it was one thing when we were sitting around here picking daisies, when we thought this place was supposed to be safe, but now we know it's not." Shane looked over all of us. I glared up at Daryl. "What about you, man?" Shane asked Glenn holding out a shot gun. "You going to protect yours?"

Glenn glanced at Maggie and took the gun with a shaking hand.

"Daryl, you are not about to do this right now," I said quickly under my breath, still glaring up at him. Maggie and Shane were arguing, but I was too focused on Daryl to pay attention to what they were saying.

"I gotta keep ya safe, Rae," he said.

"Don't even act like this is for me!" I said a little louder than I intended. "You know how I feel about this!"

"Just cause ya don't want us t' get rid of 'em, don't mean they're any less dangerous."

"Now look," Shane said over my voice before I could reply. "Hershel, he's just going to have to understand. Now, we need to find Sophia, am I right?" he asked Carl, kneeling in front of him. I felt my jaw drop as Shane tried to hand him a pistol. "Now I want you to take this. I want you to take this and keep your mother safe, and do whatever it takes. Go on and take the gun and do it."

Before Carl could reach for it, Lori planted herself in between them.

"Rick said no guns," she hissed down at him. "This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

"Oh shit," T-dog said, grabbing everyones attention. I twisted my head around and felt my stomach twist. Hershel, Rick and Jimmy were slowly making their way out of the woods, with animal catching sticks. Walkers were on the other end of them.

"Oh my god," I breathed.

Shane ran passed us, and Daryl ripped away from my grip to follow after. I cursed under my breath, and followed closely behind.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shane screamed as we quickly approached Rick.

"Shane just back off!" Rick said, his eyes never leaving the walker infront of him.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked over the growling of the walkers.

"Are you kidding me!" Shane bellowed, circling around them. I reached for Daryl and wrapped my arm around his, and watched the scene, my mouth pursed. "You see?" Shane asked us. "You see what they're holding onto?"

"I see who I'm holding onto!" Hershel argued.

"No man, you don't!"

"Shane, just let us do this, then we can talk!" Rick pleaded.

Daryl pulled away from me again, as one of the walkers reached out to me. Daryl held up the shot gun, and stepped in front of me.

"What do you walk to talk about, Rick?" Shane asked, standing just out of reach of the walkers grip. "These things aren't sick! They're not people! They're dead! They don't feel anything! All they do is kill! These are the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They're going to kill all of us!"

"Shane!" Rick screamed over him. "Stop!"

"Hey, Hershel, man, let me ask you something," Shane asked, pulling out his hand gun. "Could a living breathing person walk away from this?" I jumped at the sound of the gun shooting. Jake whined at my side. I hadn't realized he followed us out here, and was eyeing the walkers carefully, his fur on end.

"Stay," I said in a low tone. Jake glanced up at me, then back at the walkers and stood in front of me, fur still standing.

Shane let loose two more bullets, causing me to jump again. He was shooting the walker in the body, making sure not to hit the head.

"That's three rounds in the chest! Someone who's alive, can they just take that? Why is it still coming?" he poised the gun for another shot and shot two more rounds. "That's its heart! It's lungs! Why is it still coming?"

Hershel stood there, watching the walker at the end of the pole in a mixture of horror and sadness. Shane shot two more rounds, and I covered my mouth with my hands, as I stepped back away from it. To Hershel, these were real, living people. The walkers had been in the barn the entire time we had been here. Who were we to come in here and destroy that?

"Shane! Enough!" Rick screamed at him.

"Yeah, you're right," Shane answered moving towards the walker. "That is enough." He held the gun to the walkers head, and with a shot from the barrel, the walker fell to the ground with a dull thud. Hershel kneeled to the ground next to the body, a look of horror on his face.

I stepped a few more steps back when I noticed that we had slowly been moving closer to the barn and we were only a few feet away.

"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone! Enough living next to a barn filled with the things that are trying to kill us! Enough! Rick, it isn't like it was before! Now if you all want to live, if you want to survive, you have to fight for it! Right here! Right now!" Shane took off from the barn, and before I realized what was happening, Daryl stood in front of Jake and I, his shot gun aimed for the barn.

Rick was trying to reason with Hershel to take the pole, but Hershel wasn't responding. Shane was making way on the chained doors, with a pick axe leaned next to the doors.

"Daryl," I said quietly.

"Just stay calm, Rae. Stay with me," he said, over his shoulder.

I watched as Shane finally unlocked the doors and banged on them with his fist a few times. He reached for his gun in his belt and stepped back away from the doors as they started to open. As the walkers started to pour out, the air was filled with the sound of guns and the smell of rotten blood, death, and gun powder. My senses were over whelmed by the scene in front of me, as Daryl stepped a few feet forward to take aim at the walkers spilling from the barn. Dozens of walkers appeared from the darkness, but even before they could get a few feet out from the doors, they were falling to the ground, with brain matter plastering the ground beneath them.

I swallowed a lump in my throat as my mind began to fog. _"Shoot him!" I screamed, trying to push and kick him away from me, him grabbing at my arms trying to bite me._ I shook my head. I couldn't get distracted. I had to stay focused. My eyes never left the area near Daryl, incase a walker got passed and I had to warn him.

Slowly, the walkers started to thin out. Less and less were trying to pour through the doors trying to eat us, until it was silent. No one made a sound as the wind blew the smell of death around us, and the cicadas sang in the trees, oblivious to the scene before us. I stepped forward to Daryl, Jake pressed to the side of my leg. I reached out for his hand, but a noise made me freeze. The sound of a groan behind the doors was echoed in the emptiness of the barn. Everyone lifted their guns again ready for another round of the walkers to appear.

"Oh god," I said quietly, as the walker appeared. It was a little girl. She stepped out into the sun, her head down and eyes on the ground. The blue of her shirt was matted with dirt at the body and almost in a gradient turned to blood further up her shirt from the wound on her neck. She lifted her head, and it was almost as if a pin dropped as she snarled at us. "Sophia.."

All the guns slowly lowered as she very slowly made her way to us, her feet never sure of where she was walking.

"Sophia!" Carol sobbed behind me. I heard her footsteps quickly approaching. As she started to pass us, Daryl reached out for her and held her back. Carol collapsed to the ground, and Daryl still held onto her, kneeling next to her. I felt tears prick at my eyes as I continued to watch the little girl get closer to us.

All of this talk about clearing the barn, and yet Shane couldn't raise his gun to put down Sophia as a walker.

I could hear sobbing from Carol, and Carl behind me. I could hear everyone's breathing become heavy as Sophia got closer. But the sounds of the snarls and teeth clattering was louder than anything else. Jake whined at my feet, but I was too frozen in shock to soothe him. He laid down at my feet, pressed to the dirt.

Rick stepped passed us, his feet sure, and even as Sophia tripped getting closer. He reached for his gun in his belt loop and held it in his hand, his knuckles white. He lifted the gun, and took aim. I could see the gun shaking in his hand, as Sophia snarled at him.

She was at point blank range, when the gunshot echoed over the farm. Everything was silent. The wind. The cicadas. Breathing. Sophia landed on the ground with a quiet thud. And I felt the last bit of hope in my body die with her.

* * *

><p>I know it's short! I'm sorry! But like I promised, less than a week, and here's an update! :)<p>

But but but, in order of forgiveness of the shortness, I'll have another chapter or two out in the next few days. I got into a pretty bad car accident, where some kid hit me from behind doing 45-50 while I was at a complete stand still at a stop light and I'm ordered bed rest for the next two days or so, so I'm going to be at my moms for the next few days bored out of my mind. Thank god I got out of it with only a sprained neck, severe whiplash and going to be in some pretty bad pain for a few days.

Soo, if I mess something up pretty bad in the chapters, I apologize. They've got me on some pretty kick ass pain pills (Daryl reference right there), and I'm a little bit out of it. :)

Anyway, I'm hoping I wrote the Sophia part with enough justice as to the episode.

Thank you to **jstarr713, JavaNut, littlemija69, Dalonega Noquisi, SharonH, LadyLecter47, PiratesLife, XakibaphoxX, zaii, BelmontCalyx** and** Sunnymuffins **for your wonderful reviews! I think this is the most feed back I've ever gotten on a chapter, and I'm so glad that you all enjoy it so much! You all really do keep this story alive, and I can't tell you all enough how thankful I am to have such wonderful readers :)

Please leave a review and let me know what you think! And I'll get my drugged up ass started on the next chapter for you all! :)


	38. The Strangers Are Knockin'

Rick lowered his gun to his side. His knuckles still clenched white around the handle. I lowered my head as Daryl pulled Carol from the ground.

"Don't look," he said, pulling her away. "Don't look."

She shoved him away and glared at him. Without a word, she ran off towards the camp. I could hear Beth crying behind me. But everyone else was silent. I felt the tears in my eyes threatening to pour over as I stared hard at the ground. Jake pressed himself closer to my leg and licked at my bare legs. Daryl was at my side after a few moments and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

I glanced up through my hair when I heard Beth's crying move closer to the bodies.

Rick tried to catch her, but she pushed away his hands and rushed over to one of the bodies. She pulled one of the bodies off of the body of an auburn haired woman. She rolled the woman over to her back.

"Mom," she whimpered through her tears, reaching for her hand. She let out a scream, springing everyone into action when the woman's body let out a horrifying growl and snatched at her hair. Rick pulled Beth out of the walkers grip and pushed her back into Hershel's arms. Glenn grabbed it's arms and held it for T-dog to kick it's head to no avail. Andrea grabbed the pick axe that Shane used to open the doors and swung, implanting it into the walkers skull. The walker immediately stopped fighting and fell back to the ground.

"Larae?" Daryl asked, coming up to me again where I hadn't moved. "Are ya okay?" he asked.

"I think I'm pretty far from okay, Daryl."

* * *

><p>"You should go see if she's okay," I told Daryl as he followed me back to camp.<p>

"Rae," he said, but I turned and pressed my finger to his mouth.

"Don't start, Daryl. She shouldn't be alone right now."

"Whut do I say to her?" he asked, moving my hand away from his mouth and holding it.

"You don't have to say anything. Just be there. She'll talk if she wants to talk."

He didn't say anything for a moment as he looked over my face. "Ya sure yer gonna be okay alone?" he asked.

I nodded. He chewed his lip for a second and leaned forward to press a kiss to the top of my head. He stepped away from me, and gave me one last look over before he headed to the RV. I gave a small smile as I watched him. I reached down to stroke Jake's fur before I entered the tent, with the Jake following closely behind. I sat on the cot, kicked off my shoes and laid back. Jake jumped up on the cot with me, and laid down next to me, resting his head on my stomach.

I stared up to the roof of the tent and watched the shadows made by the leaves of the tree above the tent dance around the light that shone through. As the time passed by, the shadows moved across the tent like stars in the night's sky.

Sophia was gone. After all this hope of trying to find her, Daryl almost getting killed, after all the sleepless nights, all the worry and tears, she had already been gone. She was already dead. She was already one of those things.

Hopefully she didn't suffer. That when she was bit, she turned immediately, like I had heard stories of in the beginning. I was sure she was scared, tired and hungry. I just wish that she didn't have to suffer the fever like Jim did on top of it. She was just a little girl. She didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve to be a walker.

She deserved a chance to try and live. But not in the world the way it is now. She deserved a normal life. She should have gone to school, went to prom, graduated, went to college, fallen in love, gotten married and had kids of her own. She didn't deserve to have to live in this world. Maybe it was a better thing for her to be gone, and in heaven. Where she didn't have to be scared or sleep with nightmares like the rest of us.

"Larae?" Lori's voice called into the tent. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," I answered, rubbing the wetness away from my eyes.

"It's time. I just have to go get Carol and Daryl from the RV."

"Okay," I answered, sitting up on the cot as Jake jumped down. I stood from the makeshift bed and pulled my shoes back on. I exited the tent zipping it shut behind Jake and searched around the camp for everyone. I finally spotted everyone at one of the lone standing trees away from the woods. I moved out of the shade of the tree and into the after noon sun as I walked over to them.

The only people missing were Lori, Daryl and Carol. I stood back away from everyone as we somberly looked over the tree graves with the three bodies lying next to them. I crossed my arms as the wind blew a chill across my skin. I shivered, but I wasn't sure if it was from the chill, or if it was from looking at the three bodies wrapped in sheets.

Daryl appeared at my side next to me. I glanced up at him, as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I glanced around. "Where's Carol?" I asked quietly so only he could hear me.

"She ain't comin'," he muttered, a glare set in his eyes as he stared at the graves.

I kept my mouth shut. Right now wasn't the time to ask. Shane and Rick stepped forward to the bodies. Rick stood at their heads and Shane at their feet. Each body they lowered into the ground, I felt the group's spirits lower. I leaned into Daryl with Jake on my other side as they lowered the smallest body into the smallest grave.

They both picked up a shovel that was leaning against the tree. They filled the graves slowly. The wind blew again, as the sound of dirt falling back into the ground became a morbid song. I closed my eyes, and lowered my head as I felt Daryl shake against me. I knew he was having a hard time with this. He had wanted to find Sophia so bad. It kept him up at night, worrying about her, although he didn't know I knew that. When my nightmares would wake me up at night, I laid there with my eyes shut, listening to him move around trying to get comfortable. Finally I would pretend to move in my sleep and press my self into him, forcing him to stop moving around so he could sleep. He would always let out a quiet sigh, drape his arm around me, and sleep would find him minutes later.

After the graves were filled, rocks were placed at the head of the graves. Rick and Shane stood back away from the graves. We stood there for minutes, just listening to the wind and the birds singing, oblivious to the sadness of the group, putting more loved one's down to rest.

Shane was the first to leave. Then everyone else scattered in separate directions away from the graves.

* * *

><p>"Daryl, what are you doing?" I asked, approaching him pulling up the stakes for our tent.<p>

"Movin' the tent," he muttered.

"Why?" I asked. "Where?"

"Cause I fuckin' can, Rae. I'm movin' it away from everyone."

I stared at him, eye wide. "Don't get shitty with me, Daryl. All I did was ask what you were doing."

He scoffed as he continued to pull down the tent.

"Whatever, Daryl. You aren't the only one having a hard time," I said turning on my heel and heading to the house. I didn't hear him follow after me. I shook my head as I walked through camp and up to the house to retrieve Jake from Carl.

I started to knock on the door when I heard a commotion upstairs. I pulled the door open, and quickly went up the stairs. Lori was standing in the doorway to the bed room

"What's wrong with her?" I heard Maggie ask. I stood next to Lori in the doorway, peering in. Beth was laying on the bed, her eyes open, but glazed over. She laid there, limp and lifeless, her eyes unblinking as Maggie tried to talk to her and get her to respond.

"She might be in shock. Where's Hershel?" Lori asked.

"We can't find him anywhere," Glenn said, his arms crossed as he stood across the room. Lori looked down at me in question and I shook my head. She left the doorway, and rushed down the stairs.

"What happened?" I asked.

"She just passed out in the kitchen," Glenn answered, running one of his hands through his hair.

I pursed my lips. I knew that this is what I looked like from Daryl's descriptions when I fell into a flashback for more than just a few minutes. Hopefully, she wasn't developing the same mental disease that haunted every dream I had.

* * *

><p>"Is this your step-mothers stuff?" Rick asked, moving around a few items in a cardboard box on Hershel's bed.<p>

I stood in the doorway again, watching again as Rick and Shane searched Hershels things to maybe get a clue as to where he went.

"He was so sure she'd recover," Maggie said, leaning against a dresser. "They'd just pick up where they left off."

"Looks like he found an old friend," Shane said, holding up a silver flask and tossing it to Rick.

Rick caught it and looked at the item as if he had never seen one before with the look of deep thought on his face.

"That belonged to my grandfather. Gave it to him when he died."

"I didn't take Hershel for a drinker," Rick said, handing her the empty flask.

"No, he gave it up the day I was born. He didn't even allow liquor in the house."

"What's the bar in town?" Rick asked after a moment.

"Hatlands. He practically lived there in his drinking days," Maggie said, placing the flask down.

"Then that's where I'll find him," Rick said, looking towards Glenn.

"Yeah, I've seen the place, I'll take you," Glenn said, answering Ricks question before he could ask.

"Alright. I'll get the truck," Rick said, beginning to leave the room. But he stopped and turned as Maggie started to stop Glenn.

"It'll be an easy run," Glenn tried to reason.

"Like the pharmacy?" she argued.

"Hey, Maggie?" Rick said, grabbing her attention away from Glenn. "I'll bring him back." He turned again and I moved to give him room to exit. Lori followed after him quickly. I stayed in the room to make sure I couldn't hear what they were arguing about so I didn't intrude. Shane brushed passed me to follow Lori out. I could hear their voices arguing in the hallway.

I pursed my lips as I heard Rick walk away from Lori. I turned on my heel and quickly followed after him out of the house.

"Hey, Rick?" I called out to him as he walked down the steps. He turned to face me, his face drawn. A look of relief passed over his face when he realized it was me that called after him. I stood in front of him for a moment chewing my lip. "Let me go with you," I said quickly.

He paused for a second before letting out a sigh. "I don't think Dary-"

"I don't care what Daryl thinks," I said shaking my head. "He'll have to get over it. We need Hershel here, before Beth just doesn't snap out of it. If anyone can convince him that sometimes all a girl really needs is her dad, it's me."

He sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair. "Alright," he sighed. "But I'm not taking you out there unarmed."

* * *

><p>I sat in the back seat of the sedan with Rick at the drivers side, standing with the door open as we waited for Glenn to say goodbye to Maggie. I clenched my pistol in my hand, testing the weight of it again. Rick had snagged it for me while he got Glenn a shot gun from the bag of guns in the R.V. I knew Daryl would kill me if he ever found out, but he would just have to get over it.<p>

After finally kissing Maggie, Glenn made his way to the truck.

"You ready?" Rick asked.

"Yeah," he said coming to the passengers side. Rick climbed into the drivers seat and turned the ignition key sputtering the vehicle to life. I kept a sharp eye out for Daryl as we pulled away from the house and down the road. If he found out I was going out with Glenn and Rick, he'd really never forgive me. But I knew it was going to take someone who experienced losing their father to talk some sense into him if he wouldn't come.

I finally relaxed once the sight of camp was no longer visible in the mirrors. The ride to the town was quiet, all three of us caught up in our own thoughts. It wasn't until buildings and stores from the town started to appear in the trees before Glenn spoke up.

"Maggie say's she loves me."

Rick glanced at him with a smirk on his face as I leaned forward in between the seats to listen to him.

"She doesn't mean it," Glenn smiled unsurely. "I mean. She can't. She's upset," he said motioning his hand brushing off his words. "Confused. I think-"

"I think she's smart enough to know what she feeling," Rick spoke up, giving Glenn a small smile.

"No," Glenn said shaking his head. Rick laughed and I smiled slightly at Glenn's denial. "She wants to be in love. So she needs something to..to like-"

"Glenn it's pretty obvious to everyone that Maggie loves you," Rick interrupted him again. "Not just because you're one of the last men standing. So what's the problem?"

"I didn't sat it back," Glenn said quietly.

"Well, that's where you fucked up," I said sitting back in the seat.

"I've never had a woman say that to me before!" Glenn defended. "Except my mom, of course. Or my sisters. But with Maggie, it's different. We barely know eachother. What does she really know about me? Nothing. We're practically strangers. But I just stood there like a jerk."

"Hey, this is a good thing," Rick said, glancing towards Glenn again. "It's something that we don't get enough of these days. Enjoy it."

"Do you not love her?" I asked, leaning forward again.

A blush crept up on Glenns cheeks. "I don't know anything about her," he said quickly.

"And?" I asked. "Doesn't mean you can't learn more about her."

Glenn brushed me off as we pulled through an intersection. "It's right there," he said pointing at a hanging sign off of a western looking building. Rick pulled sedan up next to the curb and all three of us climbed out, guns in hand.

The weight of the gun was unfamiliar to me. It had been weeks since I had last held one. If we got swarmed, I only hoped that I still had my aim. We reached the bar's doors and Rick pushed them open, gun raised, waiting for anything unexpected.

* * *

><p>"Moving out of the suburbs?" Lori asked, approaching Daryl who sat next to the large stack of firewood where he had moved his tent to. He had a stick in hand, his buck knife in the other as he ran the knife down the wood sharpening it into a point. "Listen, Beth's in some kind of catatonic shock. We need Hershel."<p>

"Yeah. So whut?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the stick.

"So I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and Rick back." He didn't answer. "Daryl."

His head snapped up at his name. "Yer bitch went window shoppin'," he muttered, sliding the knife up the stick. "Ya want 'im? Fetch 'im yerself. I got better things t' do."

"What's the matter with you?" Lori accused, glaring at him. "Why would you be so selfish."

Daryl was on his feet in seconds, glaring at the brunette. "Selfish? Listen here, Olive Oyl! I was out there lookin' for that little girl every single day! I took a bullet and an arrow in the process! Don't be tellin' me about gettin' my hands dirty!" he yelled at her, waving his knife. "Ya want those two idiots? Have a nice ride!" He sat back at his spot, leaning forward to continue sharpening the stick in his hands into an arrow. "I'm done lookin' for people."

Lori stood there for a moment before turning to leave. She paused before turning back. "You know, Larae is out there with them, right?" she asked.

Daryl paused to look up at her. He scoffed. "'a course she is. She ain't got a single screw right in that damn head 'o hers. Let 'erself get hurt. She won't do it again."

Lori shook her head and turned away from him again, to head back to the farm.

Daryl glanced up to make sure she was leaving before he leaned back against the firewood. Larae had gone behind his back to go into town with Rick to find Hershel. He chewed on his lip as anger bubbled beneath his skin.

She was going to have hell to pay when she got back.

* * *

><p>When we entered the bar, Hershel was sitting at a stool, turned away from us, a half empty bottle of ember colored liquor next to him.<p>

"Hershel?" Rick said, glancing around the bar.

"Who's with you?" Hershel replied.

"Glenn. Larae."

"Maggie send you?" he asked, after taking a sip from a crystal glass.

"They volunteered," Rick said, placing his gun back in his belt loops. "They're good like that." Rick moved forward to lean on the bar next to him, as Glenn and I spread a little further out to check every corner of the bar. "How many have you had?" he asked.

"Not enough," Hershel laughed mirthless.

"Let's finish this up back at home," Rick said, leaning forward. "Beth collapsed. She's in some kind of catatonic state. Must be in shock. I think you are, too."

"Maggie's with her?"

"Yeah. But Beth needs you."

"What could I do?" he asked. "She need's her mother. Or rather, to mourn. Like she should have done weeks ago. I robbed her of that. I see that now."

"You thought there was a cure," Rick tired to reason. "Can't blame yourself for holding out her hope."

"Hope," Hershel smiled into his glass. "When I first saw you running across my field, with your boy in your arms, I had little hope he'd survive."

"But he did," Rick said, sitting at the stool next to him.

"He did," Hershel nodded. "Even though we lost Otis. Your man Shane made it back. And we saved your boy. That was the miracle that proved to me that miracles do exist. Only it was a sham. I was a fool, Rick. And you people saw that. My daughters deserve better than that."

Rick looked towards me, and I nodded. I sat next to Hershel on the stool and looked over the bottles on the wall before me. "I lost my dad, you know," I said, glancing down at my hands. "Just before we came to your farm. He was sick. He didn't want me to stay behind with him from the group because his body was just shutting down on him, so he killed himself." Hershel glanced at me. "My dad meant the world to me. I can't tell you how many times I've woken up in the middle of the night thinking that all of this was just a nightmare and all I wanted to do was get up, and go crawl into bed with him like I used to do as a kid. But then it would hit me that this really wasn't a dream. And he's dead. So there will be no more go and crawling into bed with my dad so he can keep away my nightmares. There will be no more memories with him. All I have left now are my parents rings," I said reaching up and touching the necklace. "And a picture. That's all I've got. But Beth and Maggie still have you. But you have to come back so they know that."

Hershel didn't answer me. He simply took another long drink of the liquor from the glass. I sighed and pushed away from the bar to go and stand next to Rick and Glenn by the door.

"So what do we do now?" Glenn asked. "Do we wait for him to pass out?"

"Just go," Hershel called over his shoulder. "Just go."

"I promised Maggie I would bring you home safe," Rick said, stepping forward just in front of us.

"Like you promised that little girl?"

I pursed my lips and glanced to Rick. The tension in the room started to become suffocating as Rick walked over to Hershel.

"So what's your plan? Finish that bottle? Drink yourself to death and leave your girls alone?"

Hershel shoved away from the bar to face Rick. "Stop telling me how to care for my family. My farm! You people are like a plague! I do the Christian thing, give you shelter. And you destroy it all!"

"The world was already in bad shape before met," Rick said, his voice low.

"And you take no responsibility! You're supposed to be their leader!"

"Well I'm here now!" Rick shouted back at Hershel. "Alright?"

"Yes," Hershel nodded turning away from Rick. "Yes you are." He sat back at the bar and finished the glass of liquor.

"Come on," Rick pleaded. "Your girls need you. More than ever," he said reaching out to Hershels arm.

Hershel yanked his arm away. "I didn't want to believe you," he slurred. "You told me there was no cure, that these people were dead, not sick. I chose not to believe that. But when Shane shot Lou in the chest, and she just kept coming, that's when I knew what an ass I had been. That Annette had been dead all along and I was feeding her rotten corpse. That's when I knew there was no hope. And when that little girl came out of the barn, the look on your face. I knew you knew it, too. There is no hope. And you know it now. Like I do. Don't you?"

Glenn and I stood there in silence. Rick was at a loss for words as he sat back against the bar and looked at us.

"There is no hope for any of us," Hershel continued, pouring himself another drink.

"Look, I'm done. I'm not doing this anymore," Rick said, throwing his hands out. "Cleaning up after you. You know what the truth is? Nothing has changed! Death has always been there! Whether it's from heart attack, cancer or a walker, what's the difference? You didn't think it was hopeless before did you? And now there are people at home, trying to hang on. They need us. Even if it's just a reason for them to go on, even if we don't believe it ourselves. You know what?" Rick asked. "This isn't about what we believe anymore. It's about them."

Hershel nodded and finished the glass. He placed it, lip down on the bar and pushed away from the stool. I almost let out a sigh of relief, but it was cut short as the sound of the doors to the bar opening. I spun around, gun in hand and aimed at two figures standing in the blinding light.

"Son of a bitch. They're alive," one of the figures spoke. I swallowed and glanced at my safety to make sure it was off, as the figures started to laugh.

* * *

><p>Longest chapter yet? I do believe so :) All in celebration of reaching two hundred reviews!<p>

I think I really do enjoy complicating Daryl and Larae's relationship. What do all of you think? Was Larae right in going with Rick and Glenn to get Hershel? Or should she have stayed behind and talked some sense into Daryl? I'd love to know what you think. :)

Thank you to **zaii, Dalonega Noquisi, LadyLecter47 **and **SharonH **for you're reviews. They aid in my healing process haha.

Leave a review and let me know what you think! I might even have another one out tomorrow :)


	39. Whiskey Bottle Shootings

I stepped back away from them as they approached. One was a small, thin man who gave us a charming smile as he approached us, hands lifted. Behind him a larger man who looked like he had never seen a tread mill, eye'd me as I stepped beside Rick, who stood back straight, his hand on his gun.

"Hey now," the smaller man said, sitting slowly at one of the tables. "We aren't here to cause trouble. We just saw your car outside and wanted to see if anyone living found themselves in here." He eyed the gun in my hand. "Why don't you lower that gun, and we all share a round?" I glanced at Rick then back at the man. "What do you say?"

I looked back to Rick who gave me a small nod. I looked back to the man sitting at the table who flashed me a smile. I slowly lowered the gun to my side, but left the safety off. I slowly sat at the bar Glenn was standing behind, never turning my back to the two strangers.

Rick reached around the bar, eyes trained on the two to grab shot glasses and a random bottle of liquor. He looked towards Glenn and I, and I just shook my head. The last thing we needed was to get buzzed if these two had friends.

"Names Dave," the smaller man said as Rick poured a shot glass. "The scrawny looking douche bag over there is Tony. We met on I-95, coming out of Philly. Damn shit joint that was."

"I'm Glenn. It's nice to meet some new people," Glenn said, a smile in his voice.

"Rick Grimes," he said, handing Glenn a glass.

"What about you man, want one?" Dave asked Hershel.

"I just quit," Hershel muttered.

"Unique sense of timing, my friend," Dave smiled.

"His name's Hershel. He lost people today. A lot," Rick said, sitting in between Hershel and I.

"I'm sorry to hear about that," Dave nodded to Hershel. "To better day's and new friends. And to our dead. May they be in a better place," he finished, tossing back the shot glass.

"What about you, girlie?" Tony asked, eyeing me and giving me an up down. "You have a name?"

"Larae," I answered, my hand itching for the gun that I had placed in the waist band of my shorts. I laced my fingers together in my lap, and leaned back against the bar, with my back stiff. My hair was sticking to the back of my neck but I felt too stiff to lift my hands to tie it up in a bun. I could feel my hair plastering to my forehead as the heat in the bar rose higher from the tension.

Dave went to place his shot glass down and as he leaned across the table, my eyes focused on the gun in the back of his belt. Rick must have seen it too, because when Dave glanced back, he froze under our gaze. He reached for the gun, causing my hand to flinch for mine when he held it out to us.

"Not bad, huh?" He looked over the gun with a sigh. "I got it off of a cop."

"I'm a cop," Rick said, his voice deadly calm and level.

"This one was already dead," Dave smiled.

"You guys are a far way away from Philadelphia," Rick said, changing the subject quickly.

I glanced in the corner of my eye and saw Tony eyeing me. I pursed my lips and stared down at my hands.

"We're far away from anywhere," Dave corrected.

"Well, why the south?"

"I can tell you one thing, it certainly wasn't the weather. I must have dropped twenty pounds in sweat alone down here."

"I wish," Tony snickered.

"At first it was D.C.," Dave sighed. "Heard there might be some kind of refugee camp, but the roads are so jammed, we never even got close. Decided to get off the highway and into the sticks and hauled ass. Every group we came across had a new rumor as a way out of this thing."

"One guy said there was a coast guard sent down the coast, sending ferries to the islands. The latest there was a railroad running trains to the middle of the country. Kansas, Nebraska," Dave said, sitting back in his seat.

"Nebraska?" Glenn asked.

"Low population, lot's of guns," Tony explained.

"Kind of makes sense," Glenn answered.

"Ever been to Nebraska, kid?" Dave asked. "There's a reason they call them fly lord states," he laughed. "What about you guys?"

I chewed my lower lip as Rick answered. "Fort Benning eventually."

"I hate to piss in your cornflakes officer, but we ran across a grunt who was stationed there. Said the place is over run my lame brains," Dave said quietly.

"Wait. Fort Benning is gone?" Glenn asked. "Are you for real?"

"Sadly, I am. Ugly truth is, there is no way out of this mess. Just keep going from one pipedrain to the next, praying that one of these mindless freaks don't grab a hold of you while you sleep."

"If you sleep," Tony added.

"Yeah, don't look like you guys are hanging your hats here. You holed up somewhere else?"

My eyes flickered up from my fingers to the smaller man, then back down before he caught me looking.

"Not really," Rick said after a moment.

"Those your cars out front?" Dave pressed.

"Yep," Glenn said, then paused. "Why?"

"Well, we're living in ours. Those look kind of empty. You know, clean. Where's all your gear?"

"We're with a larger group," Hershel spoke up. "Out scouting. Thought we could use a drink."

"A drink?" Dave smiled. "Hershel, I thought you quit." When no one answered, Dave looked all of us over again. "Well, we're thinking about setting up around here. Is it safe?"

"It can be," Glenn answered. "There's a couple of walkers around here."

"Walkers? Is that what you call them?"

"Yeah," Glenn smiled.

"That's good. I like that. I like that better than lame brains," he looked over us once again, and I felt his eyes land on me. I glanced up at him through my hair, then back down to my hands. I shouldn't have come. I should have stayed in camp with Daryl. "So are you guys set up on the outskirts of town? That new development?"

"Trailer park or something?" Tony asked, standing suddenly, causing the four of us to flinch. He brushed passed me, and I felt his fingers trail across my knees. I pursed my lips tightly, and adjusted to turn more towards Rick as Tony stood in the corner. "Farm?"

"You on a farm?" Dave asked. I heard Tony pull down the zipper to his pants, and I clenched my eyes shut as I heard his pants shift. I heard urine falling to the floor and I turned further in my seat to fully face towards Rick as Rick stared at him, his face drawn.

"I really don't think that's appropriate with a lady in the room," Hershel spoke up.

"Sometimes a man's gotta take a leak," Tony retorted.

"Is it safe?" Dave pressed, changing the subject back. "It has to be. Food. Water."

"Cooze?" Tony asked from behind me. "I haven't had a piece of ass in weeks."

I brushed the sweat from my eyes, and stood from my spot. I moved away from the larger man, and sat next to Hershel to move away from him.

"Excuse my friend, those city kids don't have any tact. No disrespect. So listen, Glenn-"

"We've said enough," Rick cut Dave off.

"But this farm, it sound's pretty sweet, doesn't it?" Dave asked Tony.

"Yeah," Tony answered. "Real sweet," he said, stepping away from the pissed in corner, a shot gun over his shoulder.

"A little southern hospitality," Dave smiled. "We got some bodies back at camp. They're having a real hard time. I don't see why you couldn't make room for a few more. We could pull our resources-"

"Look, I'm sorry, that's not an option," Rick cut him off again.

"It doesn't sound like it'd be a problem," Dave pressed after pausing for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, we can't," Hershel said.

"We can't take in anymore," Rick added.

"You guys are something else," Dave laughed. "I thought we were friends. We have people we have to look out for, too."

"We don't know anything about you," Rick explained.

"That's true," Dave said, leaning forward. "You don't know anything about us. You don't know what we've had to go through. Thing's we've had to do. I bet you've had to do some of those same things yourself, am I right?" When no one answered he continued. "Nobodies hands are clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same. So, come on. Let's take a nice friendly hay ride to this farm, and we'll get to know eachother."

"That's not going to happen," Rick said, shaking his head.

"This is bullshit," Tony cursed, shifting where he was standing next to Rick.

"Calm down," Rick hushed.

"Don't tell me to calm down, don't ever tell me to calm down," Tony spat. "I'll take you damn assholes-"

Rick stood quickly from his seat to block Tony getting any closer to the rest of us.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Dave said, standing quickly, and holding up his hands. "Relax. Take it easy," he said, patting Rick's shoulder. "Nobody is killing anybody," he said, jumping over the other bar to stand behind it. "Nobody is shooting anybody, am I right, Rick?"

Rick stepped forward, and I froze as Tony reached for his gun. Dave slowly reached for his gun, and placed it down on the bar, the barrel facing towards Rick.

"We're just friends having a drink, that's all," Dave assured us, lifting his hands away from the gun. "Now," he said clapping his hands together. "Where's the good stuff?" he smiled. He started to lean down behind the counter, but froze as Rick grabbed his gun. I slowly reached behind my back to not draw unwanted attention and grabbed the handle of the gun, ready to pull it out if I needed to. "Hey," Dave said, standing straight again, an unopened bottle of liquor in his hand. "Look at that. That'll work," he said, pulling out another glass.

"You gotta understand," he said pouring the amber liquid. "We can't stay out there. You know what it's like."

"Yeah. I do," Rick nodded. "But the farm is too crowded as is. I'm sorry. You'll have to keep looking."

"Keep looking," Dave repeated. "What do you suggest we do then?"

"I don't know," Rick shrugged. "I hear Nebraska's nice."

"Nebraska," Dave laughed.

Before I could blink, Dave was lunging for the gun on the bar, and suddenly, blood and grey matter were splattered against the mirror behind him. Rick spun around and shot Tony twice, causing him to fall to the ground. He moved closer, to finish him off with one last bullet to the skull. I covered my mouth with hands as it hit me what had just happened as Rick stepped away from Tony. I stood from the bar stool as the grey matter started to slide down the mirror.

Tony's body slid further down to the ground, as Rick looked on, staring, his face blank down at his dead body. He holstered his gun as Hershel went to stand at his side. I moved closer, standing just off to Rick's side as he glanced back at Glenn and I.

"Oh shit," Glenn breathed, staring eye wide at the body.

"You alright?" he asked Glenn.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his hand on his forehead.

"Hershel? Larae?"

"I'm okay," I breathed, placing my hands on my hips. Hershel nodded. We stood in silence for a moment, as Rick made eye contact with all of us. We knew that this was needed, and it was an understanding that this wouldn't be brought up in camp. Rick had just killed two living people. That wouldn't settle well with the camp.

"Let's head back," Hershel said. Rick nodded and bent down to pick up the guns Tony had dropped when he was shot. They started to head towards the door. Glenn went behind the bar where Dave's body was laying to loot his body from the gun he had. I gave the body one last look before following after. I looked up from the floor to the windows to notice that the sun had already set, and it was dark outside. How long had we been gone? Surely Daryl knew I was missing by now.

As we started to reach the door, headlights flashed into the windows, blinding me.

"Car!" Rick breathed. "Car! Get down!" As quickly and quietly as we could, we rushed the doors, and dropped below the windows. Rick sat to one side of me, directly next to one of the windows. I sat against one of the two doors, Glenn kneeled down next to the other door, beside Hershel. We sat in silence, listening as a row of cars pulled up next to the curb outside. I bit down on my bottom lip and squeezed my eyes shut. I shouldn't be here. I should be back at camp with Daryl, helping him move and set up the tent again. I shouldn't have come. I shouldn't be here.

My eyes snapped open as someone came up next to the door. "Dave?" the male voice called. "Tony?"

"Over here?"

"I'm telling you man, I heard shots."

More voices made themselves known as the shadows from the voices moved across the floor in front of us. The pounding in my ears kept me from understanding all they were saying, as they got closer to the door, then further away only to fall back again.

My attention snapped upwards as a figure approached the door I wasn't leaning against. It looked as if he was trying to peer through the murky glass. I clamped my hand over my mouth and stared eye-wide up at the shadow. Someone called for him and he rushed away from the door. I felt dizzy as the adrenaline rushed through my veins. I let out a shaky breath and rested my head back against the door. I held my hand over my chest. It was pounding so loud in my ears, I was sure it was only a matter of time before the strangers outside heard it.

Rick stood next to me, his back pressed against the wall. He leaned just far enough to be able to look out the window before he kneeled down just in front of me, so we could talk without being heard.

"Why won't they leave?" Glenn whispered.

"Would you?" Hershel answered, just as quietly.

"We can't sit here any longer," Rick said, glancing up at the windows. "We can get out the back and make a run to the car."

We all nodded in agreement and went to stand up, when footsteps approached the door again. We sat back down as quickly as we had stood staying as silent as possible. I jumped at the sound of gunshots.

"What happened?" A voice outside asked.

"Roamers. I nailed 'em."

"You guys check those buildings, did anyone get this one?"

"No."

"We're looking for Dave and Tony and no one checks the damn bar?"

I braced myself against the door, as quietly as I could. Rick pulled out his gun, and aimed up at the doors. I froze as the door next to me started to open. Glenn slid over next to me, and pushed the door shut again. I thanked him silently and he nodded.

"Someone pushed that shut, there's someone in there."

"Yo, is someone in there?" a voice called louder than before. "Hey, if someone's in there we don't want any trouble. We're just looking at our friends." They muttered something amongst themselves. "We don't want any trouble," they called again. "Just looking for our friends. If something happened, tell us. This place is crawling with corpses. If you could help us not get killed, I'd appreciate it."

I glanced over at Rick who looked like he was having an inner battle with himself. I bit my bottom lip again, and ran the back of my head across my forehead.

"They drew on us," Rick called out, causing me to almost jump out of my skin.

"Shit, Rick," I cursed under my breath. "Why did you do that?"

The footsteps approached the door again. "Dave and Tony in there?" one of the voices asked. "They alive?"

"No," Rick answered.

That was final. We were going to die. I clenched my eyes shut as a drip of sweat slipped down my face.

The pounding in my ears drowned out their conversation, as I tried to slow my breathing.

"Your friends drew on us first!" Rick yelled to them. "They gave us no choice! I'm sure we've all lost enough people! Done things...that we wish we didn't have to! But, it's like that now! You know that! So let's just chalk this up to what it was! Wrong place, wrong-"

I let out a small scream when the glass above my head shattered from a bullet and I flinched into Glenn. I heard more bullets whiz above my head. Rick stood from his spot to aim out of the hole in the glass and fired a shot.

"Get out of here!" he shouted at us, shooting again.

Glenn pulled me up to my feet and we took off towards the back of the bar, Hershel closely behind. Bottles around us shattered into a rainbow of colors at our feet. I dived behind one of the bars as Glenn took refuge behind the piano. Hershel rushed passed us and around the corner, but I could still see him, his back pressed against the wall. I fumbled for my gun and clenched it tightly in my hand as I struggled to catch my breath. Hershel leaned down to slide Glenn the shot gun. His other hand clenched into the hand gun that Tony had. I glanced around the side of the bar to meet Rick's eyes.

We were fucked. And we all knew it.

* * *

><p>Daryl sat next to the fire he had built, waiting for Larae to return from her escapade with Rick and Glenn. The tent was set up completely, both of their stuff inside and the sleeping bags set out again. He hated the cot, so he left it folded up in one of the corners of the tent.<p>

He sat a few feet away from the fire, a thick long branch in his hand that he used to poke at the fire, turning over the tender and burning wood. He glanced up at the sound of foot steps fast approaching.

"We can't find Lori. And the other's aren't back either," Carol said, coming up next to him.

"That dumb bitch musta gone out lookin' for 'im," he scoffed.

"What?" she asked, confusion written on her face.

"Yeah, she asked me t' go. Told her I'm done bein' an errand boy," he said, poking at the fire once again.

"And you didn't say anything?" She asked, surprise written in her voice.

He didn't answer, and just simply stared into the flames that licked at the darkness. Carol stood there for a moment, staring at him dumbfounded. She turned and started to walk away before she stopped again. She turned back to walk back to him.

"Don't do this," she said, her voice exasperated. "Please? I've already lost my girl."

Daryl stood in a flash and whirled on her. "Yeah, and that ain't my problem, neither." He brushed passed her and away from the tent. He stormed out into the darkness of the field. Who the fuck was she to think he cared? All he wanted was Larae to come back.

* * *

><p>I watched as Rick emptied out the casings in his gun to replace them with new ones.<p>

"Hey!" he called out to the voices. "We all know that this is not going to end well! There is nothing in this for any of us! Could you guys just..just back off? No one else will get hurt!"

There came no answer for a few moments. Not even the sound of foot steps. Glenn glanced back at Rick who motioned him on. Glenn nodded and stood and started rushing towards the back door in the same motion. He peered through the door and disappeared behind it. I swallowed the lump in my throat and started to take deep breaths, trying to control my heart rate.

It was silent. So silent that I could hear the old wood of the building settling. I could almost hear the dust floating in the air as I tried to focus on listening to Glenn move around. A gunshot startled me into a standing position and I rushed towards the door.

"Glenn!" Rick called following after me.

"I'm alright! I'm alright!" he called out to us, his voice shaking. I stopped next to Hershel as he reached out to grab me from following further after Glenn. Rick appeared next to me. He pressed his back against the wall and looked back at the window.

"I'll hold them here, you two go on," he said quietly, his breathing hard and labored. "Cover Glenn. See if he can make it to one of the cars. Tell him to pull up back and we'll run for it. We'll get the hell out of here."

"You want me to cover Glenn," Hershel said, nodding.

"You missed all that gun training. Could have come in handy now."

"I can shoot," Hershel muttered, checking the chamber of his gun. "Just don't like to."

Hershel walked passed me and out the door Glenn went though. I exchanged looks with Rick. I nodded towards him.

"Good luck," I said.

He nodded. I followed after Hershel into a dingy store room. Glenn stood in the middle of the room, frozen staring towards the doors, with the glass shattered out of one of them. As Hershel approached him, Glenn pivoted around the shot gun pointed at Hershel's chest. Hershel pushed the barrel of the gun away from him as Glenn let out a relieved sigh.

"Sorry," he breathed. "Sorry."

"Rick wants you to try for the car," Hershel said simply.

"Try?" he said, his eyes wide.

"You'll try and succeed," Hershel corrected himself "We'll cover you."

"That's a great plan," Glenn said, running his hand across his forehead. He shook his head and turning towards the door. He took a deep breath and reached for the door knobs. I moved to the side where no one would be able to see me as Hershel pressed his back against the wall. Glenn pushed the doors open and slowly peeked around to make sure everything was clear.

I silently moved to the other side of the door, gun in hand. Glenn moved a few more steps out. I motioned to Hershel to watch where Glenn was going, and I'd watch behind. He nodded and I stepped just far enough outside the doors to be able to see through the broken window and aim my gun.

Almost as soon as Glenn passed the doors, a man appeared from behind a tree. I shot him, missing his head and hitting him in the leg. I cursed under my breath as Hershel shot above me and hit him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. The man laid on the ground moaning loudly in pain. I looked behind me to see Glenn's legs from behind a dumpster.

"Hershel," I whispered. "Look."

"What happened?" Rick asked, rushing behind us.

"He fired," he said looking at the man. He looked back at Glenn. "He must have hit Glenn. He's behind the dumpster. Doesn't look like he's moving."

I kept my gun trained on the wounded man as he continued to yell for help.

"If we're going to help, we need to go now. We don't know how many people are in that group. And they're pissed," I said, my gun wavering. How long had it been since I shot something?

Rick pushed passed Hershel and I, staying close to the wall. "You hit?" He asked Glenn quietly. There was no asnwer. "Are you hit?" Rick asked again, as he got closer. I heard a muffled answer. Rick looked back at Hershel and I and gave us a nod. He rushed to the dumpster and hid next to Glenn. I could hear muffled words being exchanged, but I couldn't understand what they were saying.

Next thing I knew, they were rushing out from behind the dumpster, and shots were being fired. They dodged back behind the dumpster I aimed my gun where the shots came from, but couldn't see anyone. I heard tires squealing, and yelling. I heard what sounded like something falling on top of one of the roofs and sliding down. There was a loud, pain filled scream. Someone yelled something, and I could hear the squealing of tires again, but the screaming stayed in the same place.

"Did they just leave two wounded men?" I asked Hershel.

"I do believe so."

"Hershel! Larae! Look out!"

I whirled around on my heel to see walkers approaching the wounded man. Hershel shot one square between the eyes, but my hands wouldn't aim correctly with the unfamiliar weight. I cursed and stepped out from behind the door, fully facing the walkers and taking aim. I aimed for a head, bang. It went down. I aimed for another, bang. It went down.

I felt my stomach twist when I saw two of the walkers still eating the man, and ripping his upper lip and nose off.

"Come on. There's nothing we can do," Hershel said. I pursed my lips and nodded. I turned away from the man, trying to ignore the screams.

"Are you two okay?" Glenn asked.

"The gunshot must have attracted the walkers," Hershel said after I nodded. "Where's Rick?"

"He ran across," Glenn stuttered.

"What the hell? We can't go without him!" Hershel said, running over to an alley way. "Rick!"

I followed after them, although all I really wanted to do was crawl inside the car in the backseat in the floorboards and hide. I knew it was only a matter of time before more walkers showed up, and I did not want to be around for that. As we approached I felt my stomach flip again. A boy, who looked hardly the same age as me, laid with his back on a dumpster, screaming in pain from his leg being impaled on an iron fence.

"We have to go now," Hershel said, his voice low. The young man let out a groan of pain that sounded like he was telling us no. "I'm sorry son, we have to go," Hershel said, resting his hand on the uninjured leg.

"Don't leave me! Don't leave me, please!"

"We have to go," Hershel said, ignoring the boy's pleading.

"We can't!" Rick hissed, glaring at the fence.

"He was just shooting at us!" Glenn argued.

The young man locked eyes with me, and I knew how scared he was. Suddenly, he was me alone in the forest, with no one to help as I was being chased down by walkers. I was scared and alone, after suddenly being thrown into this shit hole of a world.

"There has to be something we can do," I said, breaking eye contact with him.

"Please," the young man begged.

"He's a kid," Rick hissed at Glenn.

"This place is crawling with walkers!" Glenn argued.

"We can't just leave him!" I said. "There has to be something we can do! I'm not okay with just leaving someone here to be eaten alive!"

"The fence went clean through, there's no way we can get the leg off in one piece."

Hershel touched his leg, and he let out a pain filled scream and I glanced around us, keeping an eye out for walkers.

"Shut up or I will shoot you!" Rick hissed at him.

The young man bit down on his lip as Hershel pulled Rick aside and Glenn followed. I stood next to the boy, watching behind him for any sign of walkers.

"A-are you guy's gonna help me?"The boy asked.

I glanced down at him, and gave him a soft smile. "I hope so."

"Can't we just take the leg off?" Glenn asked.

"Huh?" The boy asked, surprise and fear in his voice.

"Is that hatchet still in the car?" Rick asked, after a moment.

"No, no, no! Don't cut my leg off, please!"

"Will this cut through the bone?" Rick asked, holding up a knife hardly bigger than a pocket knife.

Hershel started listing out instructions to Rick that made my head spin. I stepped away from them so they could do what they needed to do without me vomiting. As I stepped out of the small alley, the sound of shuffling feet made me raise my gun.

"Guys!" I called back. "Walkers! And a lot of them!"

Glenn rushed up behind me as I took aim at them. "Oh god," Glenn muttered. "Hurry up!"

I aimed for a walkers head, and it dropped to the ground with a bang. I focused on the walkers in front of me, ignoring the screams of pain behind me. Soon my gun clicked, telling me it was empty. I turned in just enough time to see Rick rip the boys leg up and off the fence.

"Let's go!" I yelled, rushing to the car when Rick lifted the passed out boy from the dumpster. "Hurry! We're getting surrounded!"

* * *

><p>I'm so so so sorry. I know I promised a once a week update, but clearly, I fell behind. My laptop broke down for some reason, so I had to wait until I got the money to get it fixed, and it's been kind of hard to get any extra side money. I beg for your forgiveness for an eventful, ten page chapter :)<p>

So how does everyone think Daryl is going to react when Larae returns to camp with a mysterious stranger? I've got two different variations in mind, but I can't decide which one I want to go with. What would you all want to see? :)

Thank you to **LadyLecter47, SharonH, littlemija69, Dalonega Noquisi** and **zaii** for your wonderful reviews!

Leave a review and let me know what you think! :)


	40. Forgiveness May Be So Easy

"Whut are you doin'?" Daryl snapped at Carol as he approached his camp, spotting her looking over the animals and pausing next to the twine he had of geek ears.

"Keeping an eye on you," she answered, stepping back.

"Ain't you a peach?" Daryl scoffed, circling around her, blocking her sight from the ears.

"I'm not going to let you pull away," she answered. "You've earned your place."

"If you spent half yer time minding yer daughters business instead of stickin' yer nose in everyone else's, she'd still be alive!" he spat at her.

"Go ahead," Carol answered him, still standing firm.

"Go ahead and whut?" he glared. When she didn't answer, he glared even harder at her. "Why don't ya just go!" he hissed, throwing his hands up. "I don't want ya here! Yer a real piece a' work lady. Whut, ya gonna make this 'bout my daddy or some crap like that?! Ya don't know jack." He stepped closer to her. "Yer afraid. Yer afraid, cause yer all alone! Ya don't got no husband. No daughter. Ya don't know whut t' do with yerself. And ya ain't my problem! Sophia wasn't mine! All ya had to do was keep an eye on her!" he yelled into her face, and stepping forward. She flinched, and he stepped back again, glaring at her. He stood there, seething at her. He was shaking. All he really wanted was to be left alone until Larae got back, and forget any of this ever happened.

* * *

><p>It was mid morning by the time we pulled up to the farm. I sat in the back with Glenn and the blind-folded injured boy, who's name I learned was Randall, in between us with Hershel and Rick in the front. As the truck was coming to a stop, I already had the door open, and stepping out of the cramped compartment.<p>

I had only taken a few steps away from the truck before Daryl was in front of me.

"Whut the hell were you thinkin'?" he muttered, glaring at me. I opened my mouth to answer, when Jake was suddenly in between us, his paws on my stomach and tail wagging. I smiled down at the dog and scratched him behind the ears and was greeted with a sloppy kiss to the face.

"Who the hell is that?" T-dog asked, pointed at the injured boy in the back seat.

"That's Randall," Glenn answered.

Daryl looked up at the boy, then glared down at me. I purposely didn't meet his eyes, and focused on petting Jake. Daryl moved away from me and closer to the truck. I lifted my eyes to watch him move closer to the truck. I pursed my lips. I was in for it.

* * *

><p>"We couldn't just leave him behind," Rick said, standing at the head of the dinning table where everyone found a seat besides a select few, including me. Daryl was no where to be seen. "He would have bled out. If he lived that long."<p>

"What do we do with him?" Andrea asked.

"I've repaired his calf muscle as best I can," Hershel said, entering the dinning room and cleaning his hands on a towel. "He'll probably have nerve damage. He won't be on his feet for atleast a week."

"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road and send him on his way," Rick said, running his fingers through his hair.

"So we're just throwing him out?" I asked. "After risking our own lives to save him? After the supplies we used?"

"She's right," Andrea said. "Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea added, as the door was pulled open. I looked over to see Daryl entering the house. He nodded at me, and I turned my attention back to the group. I was not looking forward to having to talk to him alone.

"He'll have a fighting chance," Rick sighed. Daryl came to stand next to me, but left a few inches in between us. My fingers itched for Jakes fur for comfort, but he was outside with Carl. Rick had asked if Jake could stay with Carl since no one wanted Carl to hear what was going on.

"We're just going to let him go?" Shane asked. "He knows where we are."

"He was blindfolded the whole way here," Rick answered. "He's not a threat."

"How many were there?" Shane asked, a glare on his face. "You kill three of them, took one of them hostage. But they aren't going to come looking?"

"They left him for dead. No one is looking," Rick said, returning the glare.

"We should still post a guard," T-dog spoke up.

"He's out cold right now," Hershel said. "Will be for hours."

"You know, I'm going to go and get him some flowers and candy," Shane seethed. "Look at this folks! We're back in fantasy land!" he said, exiting the room.

"You know we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn," Hershel said. Shane turned on his heel to glare at him. "Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all. This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor. Keep your mouth shut."

Shane didn't answer as he tried to stare Hershel down. But when he saw that Hershel wasn't going to back down, he turned away from the old man, and stormed out of the house.

"Look, we're not going to do anything about it today," Rick assured Hershel. "Let's just cool off."

I shook my head and headed for the front door. I could hear Daryl following behind me, and I cursed under my breath. All I wanted to do was to go to sleep and forget any of this happened. I spotted the tent across the field from the rest of the camp where the stack of lumber was. I let out another stream of curses under my breath and stormed off in the direction of the tent. I knew Daryl was right behind me.

Once I reached the tent, I threw open the flap for the door and kicked off my shoes. I laid down on the bed of sleeping bags and blankets and hid my head under one of the pillows before Daryl even got inside. I heard Daryl enter the tent. He didn't move. I could feel him standing at my feet staring down at me.

"Go away," I said, muffled by the pillow. "I just want to go to sleep."

I heard him move towards me and stop next to the sleeping bags. He snatched the pillow away from me and stood, glaring down at me. I rolled my eyes and rolled away from him, staring at the side of the tent.

"Whut were ya thinkin' goin' out there with them?" he growled.

"I was thinking that I actually wanted to help instead of sitting around camp because you get pissed at me if I move even three feet away from someone's eye," I muttered, glaring at the side of the tent.

"Yer not supposed to have a weapon. That's why."

"Well, I had a gun Daryl. And I shot it. I shot down walkers. And I didn't try and blow my brains out," I said, sitting up and glaring at him. "I'm done with waiting for you to tell me that you trust me enough to not kill myself. Because I had the chance. And I didn't."

His eyes flared at me. I rolled my eyes at him and stood to exit the tent, but he moved infront of me, blocking me from the exit. He pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes.

"This is why I didn't want ya out there," Daryl said, running his hands down his face. "They gave ya a gun, when they know I don't want ya t' have one. Whut if ya had turned it on yerself the second ya got the chance?"

"I didn't," I said, my voice firm as I stared at him coldly. "I was out of my mind, Daryl. I'm better now."

He shook his head. "I don't believe ya."

I scoffed and ran my fingers through my hair. I reached behind me, where my gun was tucked in the waist band of my pants under my shirt. I pulled it out and handed it to him. "Believe me now?" I asked, glaring at him. "I've had this gun on me the entire time, Daryl. For almost twenty four hours. I've had plenty of chances, Daryl. Plenty. But I'm still standing here."

He snatched the gun away from me faster than I could blink. I tried to snatch it back, but he held it out of my reach.

"Give it back!" I shouted at him. He kept a grip on my arm as he held me away from reach of the gun in his other hand.

"No, I ain't fuckin' givin' it back, Rae," he glared. I could see the rage in his eyes. His face was starting to turn red from the anger bubbling in him. I knew I should drop it. I knew I should leave it alone and just accept it.

"You're so fucking stubborn!" I screamed at him. "What the fuck am I supposed to do if the farm gets ambushed!? By walkers or those people out there?!"

"Nothin'," he said, firmly, his voice letting me know this subject was over. He wasn't going to give in. "Cause I ain't lettin' ya out of my sight again."

"So what, you're just going to keep a fucking leash on me at all times?!" I glared, still pushing the subject.

"If that's whut it takes."

I ripped my arm away from him and stood at the other side of the tent. I could feel my entire body shaking, as rage blinded me. I couldn't find words to hurl at him, as he returned my glare.

"I can't lose ya, Rae," he said after a few moments, his glare softening. "I can't. That day back in Atlanta when ya almost just fell into my lap..I don't know whut I did for whutever God there is to forgive me for all the shit I've done to give me a reason to live in this shit hole, but I try my best t' thank 'im every day. I'm tryin' my damnedest t' make sure that I don't lose that reason."

I glared down at my feet as he spoke. I felt tears prickling my eyes. "I just want to go to sleep," I said, blinking away the tears.

He didn't say anything for a few moments. "Fine," he said coldly. "I'll be outside."

He turned on his heel and exited the tent. I stood there for a few seconds, trying to regain my composure before I laid down on the sleeping bags again. I turned to face the wall of the tent, and curled up into a ball with my arms wrapped around his pillow. I took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of him and closed my eyes.

* * *

><p>I wasn't sure what woke me up when my eyes blinked at the brightness of the afternoon. The cicadas were chirping in the trees and the heat in the tent had risen while I was asleep. I sat up from the sleeping bags and pushed my hair back away from the sweat on my forehead. I turned my attention to the unzipped opening of the tent as an unfamiliar sound filled my ears. I stretched before standing up and moving to exit the tent. Daryl sat on a large log of firewood with his back facing me towards a newly built firepit. He was running the blade down the side of a stick sharpening it to a point.<p>

He didn't hear me as I shifted on my feet, debating if I wanted to disappear back into the tent, head to where everyone was, or sit down next to him. I pursed my lips and moved to sit next to him. He moved over slightly on the log for me to sit down when he saw me standing next to him. I sat down next to him gingerly as he continued to sharpen the stick in his hand.

"I figured ya woulda slept longer," he said after a moment.

"Mm," I murmured as I watched him run the buck knife down the stick. "What are you doing?"

"Makin' arrows. I lost all o' my other ones."

I didn't reply to that as I pulled my hair over my shoulder to braid it. Over the last how ever many months it had been my hair had grown from just passed my shoulders to about halfway down my back. As I tied the end of the braid with a hair band, Daryl glanced up at me.

"I need a weapon," I said, trying to keep my voice level to not get his temper started again. "Something. It doesn't have to be a gun. It could be a bat for all I care, but I need something. You're not going to be able to be at my side at all times. You're not, no matter how much you think you can. What if something happened to you? Then what? I'm stuck with no protection if we got separated from the group. Yeah, I'll have Jake, but Jake can't take on a horde of walkers, Daryl. I need something to atleast help me run away if I have to."

He kept silent as I spoke, but stopped running his knife down the length of the stick. He didn't say anything for a moment as he chewed the inside of his lip. He stood slowly, and disappeared into the tent. As I was about to let out an irritated sigh, he reappeared with something in his hand. He sat back down next to me, this time straddling the log to face me.

"If I give ya this, ya got to promise me ya ain't gonna do nothin' stupid," he said looking me straight in the eye.

"I promise," I said, reaching out and touching his face.

He sighed, and held out what was in his hand. It was a knife. It wasn't quite as large as his buck knife, but it was pretty close. It was held in a sheath that could be worn on a belt at your side. I took it from his hand and placed it next to me on the log as I threw my arms around his neck. He slowly returned the hug and pulled me closer to him his arms around my waist.

"Thank you so much. I'm so sorry for doing that. And I'm sorry for disappearing like that."

"S'okay," he said after a moment, and I hugged him tighter.

* * *

><p>-cough- So uh. Yeah. I know I'm a horrible author for making you guys wait for so long. And I hope you all forgive me even though I really don't deserve it. I've totally had this written out on my laptop for literally months now, just not being able to figure out how to finish it. And right at the beginning of June, I met someone new, and we're together now, so he's been grabbing alot of my attention. I know it's a lame excuse, but it's all I got. I'm so so sorry .<p>

And this one is super short, but I have to go to work in literally like twenty minutes, so I just wanted to get this published before that.

BUT BUT BUT. I have good news!

I got internet!

But bad news.

My roomates dog ate one of the cords the day after we got it. And we can't find the cable ANYWHERE. So once we get that sorted out I'll promise I'll try to update more. Especially now that the third season is on.

Can we just talk about that season premier? Pretty much my entire reaction was DARYLDARYLDARYLZOMBIEPRISONM ICHONNE...OH GOD NOT HERSHELD: And that pretty much sums that up. And last weeks episode? Mind blowing. Rick got some bad ass points there.

And I'm just going to go through and thank everyone from a certain date in my reviews, because I don't even know where to begin with all you lovelies still leaving me reviews after all this time.

Thank you to **LadyLecter47, Emberka-2012, Dalonega Noquisi, Molly, Guest, vexingvixen7, xshutxyourxmouth, **and a special thanks to **TearsOfTheForgotten **who really really made me want to get something out here for everyone. And thank you to all the people who have started to follow this story, and favorite it even though I'm a horrible person and haven't updated in a decade! I was so blown away by it when I went through my email and looked at all of it. Thank you all so much, and I promise I'll try and do better. I'll just blame my boyfriend for doing it to me =).


	41. It Gets Easier

A week passed quietly, all of us going about our business. Nothing was said about the prisoner, though when Shane and Rick thought they were far enough away from the camp we all had a moment of hearing their hushed angry whispers about what do to about the young man.

Then one morning, I walked to camp to see Rick and Shane leading the prisoner to Shane's green Hyundai. He was blindfolded, gaged, and it looked like he had earbuds from an iPod taped into his ears. I stood back and watched as they pushed him into the back of the car, and closed the hatch.

"We're taking him eighteen miles out," Rick said as he saw me watching. "Give him a canteen, a knife. Give him a chance."

"Mm," I said, pursing my lips.

"You don't think we should?" he asked.

"It's not my decision," I said, glancing away from him. "Have you seen Daryl?"

"Not this morning," he said with a sigh.

I nodded and cast one last glance at the green car and walked away from the camp. I walked up to the house, the knife Daryl had given me tucked into my belt loop. I paused at the door hearing Lori and Maggie talking about Glenn. I huffed and stepped away from the door.

I didn't want to join in on any gossip going around camp. I walked back to the tents and let out a low whistle for Jake. I waited a few moments and didn't hear his feet darting for me. Daryl must have taken him somewhere. I started back towards our tent. I pushed open the flap to the tent after I unzipped it and slipped my shoes off when I entered. I laid down on the pallet of pillows and sleeping bags with a sigh. I laid there for a moment and reached for my backpack next to my side of the pallet. I unzipped the front pocket and reached in to grab the familiar pieces of smooth glossy paper they stored inside.

I pulled out the pictures that were beginning to bend at the ends and I smiled slightly at the familiar faces smiling back at me. It didn't hurt so much anymore to look at the picture of my mom, dad and me. On the nights where my nightmares kept me awake and Daryl was fast asleep, I would pull them out and turn the lantern on low so it wouldn't wake him, and stare at the pictures until I felt sleep trying to take me. Then I would safely tuck them back, turn the lantern off, and go back to sleep. Daryl didn't understand why I kept the two pictures, especially the one of me and him.

I didn't really understand either. I would just simply shrug, and put them back. I reached for the three rings that I kept around my neck and fiddled with them, as I stared at the slight glimmer from them in the pictures.

"I'm better now Dad," I said quietly to the pictures. "..I hope you and Mom are, too."

I turned my head to the opening of the tent as the familiar patter of paws got closer with a set of heavy foot steps. I tucked the pictures away quickly, and rolled over to my back to sit up. Jakes head poked into the tent, tongue lopsided and panting. I smiled and opened my arms to him and he all but skipped into the tent and pressed his head into my neck so I could hug him.

Next Daryl stuck his head inside. "I was wonderin' if ya were awake," he muttered and pulled his head out to go and do something.

I quickly stood up and followed after him, patting my hands on my thighs to call for Jake to follow me. "Yeah, I was looking for you earlier," I said, catching up to him.

"..They need ya inside," he said slowly.

"Me? Why me?"

"The girl, the blonde one. She's tryna convince 'er sister to let 'er kill herself. Tried to steal a knife from something Lori gave 'er ta eat."

I paused. He glanced back at me. "So why do I need to get involved?"

"They think that maybe ya might be able to talk some sense in ta her."

"Why not Andrea?" I asked. He gave me a long look. "Okay. Dumb question. They asked you to come and find me?" I asked, walking again, Jake pressed into my leg.

He gave a stiff nod as we approached the house. I went to step up onto the steps, but Daryl grabbed my wrist. I turned around to look at him and saw the drawn look he gave me.

"I'll be fine," I said, reaching out my hand to touch his face. "I promise."

He nodded and whistled for Jake to stay with him. I gave the loyal dog one last pat to the head, and walked inside. As I stepped inside I headed to the kitchen to see Lori leaning against the counter with her head down and Andrea next to her. I could hear shouts coming from upstairs.

"Should I give them a minute?" I asked. Lori looked up at me with a thankful smile and a nod. "Where's Hershel?" I asked.

"He doesn't want to find out yet," Lori sighed. "A family affair. We'll let those two work it out and get involved if we have to."

I shifted on my feet and glanced up to the ceiling where the yelling continued.

"That's working it out?" Andrea asked, speaking my thoughts for me.

"When Beth stops fighting that's when it's time to worry," Lori said, putting some dishes away.

"This could have been handled better," Andrea said, glancing up at a particularly loud yell..

"How so?" I asked.

"You shouldn't have taken the knife away," she answered glancing at Lori.

Lori turned around from the sink, as I gave Andrea a stupefied look. "Excuse me?" the brunette asked.

"You were wrong. Like Dale taking my gun, or Daryl taking hers, that wasn't your decision," she said, giving Lori a slight glare.

"Don't even bring me into your crazy ass way of thinking," I snapped. "Daryl was protecting me. Dale was protecting you".

"She as to chose to live, it's her decision. She has to find her own reasons," the blonde said, giving me a small glare.

"You want me to tie a noose around her neck for her?" Lori asked, putting something into the fridge.

"If she's serious, she'll find a way."

"That doesn't mean I can't stop her, or let her know that I care," Lori said, moving back to the kitchen, her hands slightly shaking.

"That has nothing to do with it, Lori," Andrea said, her voice raising an octave. "She only has so many choices infront of her. And she believes the best one is suicide."

"That's not an option," Lori said, turning away from the sink quickly.

"Of course it is-"

"Not a very good one," I jumped in, tired of listening to Andreas crazy rambling.

"She doesn't need to be yelled at, or treated like a child." she continued, ignoring me.

"She needs a loaded gun, right?" Lori asked quietly. "You'll understand if I don't sent you in there."

"I came through it," Andrea said, offence written all over her face and tone.

"And you became such a productive member of the group," Lori sighed. "Let Maggie handle this her way."

"I can contribute, I help keep this place safe," Andrea argued her defense.

I simply rolled my eyes and glanced up at the ceiling again, noticing that the yelling had ceased.

"The men can handle this on their own, they don't need your help," the brunette said, throwing a rag at the sink.

"I'm sorry," Andrea said, pushing away from the counter. "What would you have me do?"

"Oh, there's plenty of work to go around," Lori said turning to face her.

"Are you serious?" she asked, slowly moving around the table that separated them. "Everything falls apart and your in my face about skipping laundry?"

"It puts a burden on the rest of us," Lori nodded. "On me, Carol and Larae, on Patricia and Maggie, cooking and cleaning, and helping Beth. You..You don't care about anyone else but yourself. You sit up on that RV working on your tan with a shot gun in your hand."

"You know I'm on a watch against walkers, that is what matters, not fresh mint leaves in the lemonade." I felt my heart race.

"No, you're just trigger happy," I said, stepping forward to the table with a harsh glare. "You're a trigger happy lunatic that shot Daryl because you had some kind of thing to prove for your ego. And look what you did. You shot an actually valued member to the group."

Andrea stared at me, eyes wide with disbelief.

"We bring stability," Lori picked up after me. "We're trying to create a life worth living."

"Are you kidding me?" Andrea all but laughed.

"Look," Lori said, shaking her head. "I went after Rick, I took down two walkers-"

"And wrecked Maggie's car, ever apologize for that?" Andrea interrupted.

I scoffed and looked away as Lori glared at Andrea.

"Crashing her..You're insane," Lori said, looking away from her.

"No, you are. And you're the one that's self centered. The way you take it all for granted," the blonde said, leaning on the table.

"My husband is out there," Lori said, pointing in the direction Rick left this morning. "For the hundredth time. My son was shot," she said, quickly closing the space between her and Andrea. "Don't dare tell me I take this for granted!"

"You don't get it, do you? Your husband came back from the dead. Your son, too. Now you got a baby on the way. The rest of us have piled up our losses. Me, Carol, Beth. But you, you just keep on."

Lori turned away from her, shaking her head. "We've all suffered."

"Playing house, acting like the queen bee, laying down rules for everyone but yourself," Andrea kept on. "You know what? Go ahead. Go in there and tell that little girl it's all going to be just fine, just like it is for you. She'll get a husband, a son, baby..boyfriend."

My head snapped up with Lori, as I glanced at the brunette, but my eyes landed fully on the blonde.

"And you," Andrea said, turning her gaze to me. "A boyfriend that's always at your side, a loyal dog. Just go ahead and tell her everything's going to be okay. She just has to look at the bright side."

Before my body could react to send a swing into her face, she stomped away from us, and out the door. Lori and I stood there for a second.

"You want to head on up there?" Lori asked quietly. I nodded stiffly, and turned to go up the mahogany steps. I paused and turned back to Lori.

I rested my hand on her shoulder. When she looked at me I gave her a reassuring smile. She returned it lightly and I went to climb the steps, hearing her sigh behind me. I stopped at Beth's door, hearing their voices inside. I lightly knocked on the door.

Maggie answered the door a few moments later.

"You need a break," I said quietly with a smile.

"I need to stay with her, just in case-"

"I'll watch her for you. Go get something to eat, okay? I promise I'll call for you if I need you. You've been in here all day. I bet your hungry."

She stood there for a few moments, and nodded slightly. She gave one last look over her shoulder towards Beth. "I'll be back soon," she said.

I entered the room after Maggie left and closed the door behind me. Beth stared down at her hands and I could tell by her swollen eyes that she had been crying. I slowly sat down at a chair next to her bed. I pursed my lips as we sat there in silence for a long minute.

"I must apologize," I said quietly. "I'm not really good at this kind of thing." Beth glanced up at me and I gave her a soft smile. "They asked me to come and talk to you. Because what you're going through right now, I went through too. And I know that's so cliche to say. But I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." I paused to purse my lips, thinking and putting my thoughts together. "Did you ever hear about the place we were at before this?"

"The CDC?" she asked, quietly.

I shook my head. "No. There was a place after that." I sat back in the chair. "We went to my childhood home. I left my father in the hospital at the beginning of all of this mess, They told me that they were going to fly him to Atlanta so that's where I tried to go. The highway was over run by walkers. I was lost in the woods for weeks. The group found me, bleeding out from my head on the ground. When the camp was over run we went to the CDC. After the CDC we started our way to Fort Benning. But on the way there, we stopped at my childhood home. When we got out of the cars, I swear it was a miracle Beth," I said lowering my eyes to my hands with a sad smile. "My father walked out from the woods behind our house after Jake came rushing up to me. He was alive. After all that time, he escaped from the hospital that had been over run, and went back home."

"My dad had an illness. Something was wrong with his brain, or the nerves in his spine. His body was just giving up. When I told him we were going to Fort Benning, he knew he wouldn't make it. And now, after everything over and done, I know he wouldn't have made it. But I argued with him. Told him that he was coming with us, or I was staying there. I wasn't going to just leave him. He asked me 'what if I was dead?'."

I looked up to see Beth staring at me. I rested my elbow on the armrest and leaned my cheek against my fist. "That night I was haunted by that question. Because when I was born, my mom wasn't mentally healthy before. Severe Bi Polar disorder. When they had me they thought she was better. She wasn't. After I was born, she went into Post Partum Depression. Suffered with it all my life. But there was one day when I was twelve, that she just couldn't hold onto her sanity, or what little of it she had anymore. I came home from school, and she was in the bathroom. She had killed herself.

"That haunts me to this day, Beth. In my own mind, something snapped, and it never fixed itself. Now, because of my mothers selfish act, I suffer from my own mental disease called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Ever heard of that?"

She nodded. I licked my lips and carried on.

"That night I was terrified. But Daryl assured me my dad wouldn't do anything like that to me. Well the next morning, he was late for breakfast. My father never slept in. I went to go and find him, and in the same bathroom that my mother had taken her own life, he had over dosed on every medication in his medicine cabinet. When I went to go and try to wake him up, he woke up. As a walker. He must have been bitten somewhere and didn't tell anyone. He came after me. Just like your mom. I screamed for Daryl. For someone.

"Of course, Daryl got there first. With my dads corpse ontop of me, trying to take a piece of my face, Daryl shot him. The next day, when they went to burry my dad, I couldn't stand there and watch. As I stood there in the shower I thought 'It must be so easy. So many others have done it. Why can't I do it?' So I went to find my gun to find that Daryl had taken it. I knew of a gun that my dad kept in his room and I got that one, walked outside, and went to blow my brains out on the grass of my front yard. But Daryl saw me. As I started to pull the trigger, the gun jammed. From what? I couldn't tell you. Maybe it was God, saving me. Maybe it was God, telling me he wasn't done pulling me through this sick joke we call life. Maybe it was God, telling me I couldn't leave Daryl like that. Or maybe it was just simply the gun not being used for years.

"To this day now, I don't regret that the gun didn't work. It's not something I would consider again, not unless I had been bitten. And then I would still probably have to have someone do it for me. Beth, sweetie, I'm not going to sit here and go on and on about how it's going to get better, because it's not. The pain just gets easier to deal with. Time passes. And there are days where my Dad doesn't even cross my mind. But that's what I have to tell you. It doesn't get better. It just gets easier."

Beth sat in her bed, her blue eyes still starting at me in shock. She looked away. And then to the door when a knock sounded and Maggie opened the door. "Thank you," Maggie said nodding to me. I stood from the chair and gave her a smile. As I left the room Beth called after me.

"I'm sorry about your dad," she said. I nodded towards her. "..And thank you."

* * *

><p>See, I told you all I would try to do better about getting chapters out. =)<p>

Holy crap the end of this was such a painful process to write. My attention span kept jumping to something else. I don't really do well in summarizing my own story in that much depth. I would write a whole paragraph and go "shit, I forgot something.." and have to go back and add to it.

I hope you all enjoyed!

Oh, and to address something, I realize that now that I'm writing again, obviously, the third season has started. But in the time that I was not updating because I had no internet, I was writing the beginning of what was going to be the time lapse between season two and three. And I am absolutely in love with it, so I still really want to use it.

So when I found out that season two and three has a HUGE month time lapse inbetween the two I was jumping for joy. So yes, I'm not going to be jumping into season three right away, because I also kind of want to see how it pans out before I start piecing Larae in there.

Thank you to **Emberka-2012, Dalonega Noquisi, TearsOfTheForgotten, **and **smkelover **for your lovely reviews=) I hope this chapter pleases!


	42. I love you all so much! I promise!

So um. Can we all just agree not to hate me? ;) Because I know I'm a horrible person?

No, it's cool. Yell at me all you guys like. I deserve it.

But I mean, dang. Where in the world did all this time go? Let me tell you, it's been one hell of a year. But long story short, new boyfriend, he moved in, I have money for internet now instead of having a flaky roommate who just dips out on you and signs a lease somewhere else so there's almost nothing you can do to legally tie her to the place without just ruining her life for the next entire year or so.

So that means, I have internet. And that means updates. Yay! Sort of.

As I've re read a lot of my chapters I don't really like how things have progressed, changed and lead. So I'm revising some..a lot of things. Some of it's just polishing things up, such as punctuation and stuff. Others it's the entire plot of the chapter. Woo! I guess.

BUT since I'm not rewriting EVERYTHING in the story, I should be up to new chapters here in the very near future. I hope. I guess everyone needs kind of a refresher, because it's been so long? Maybe?

The chapters will be updated with /revised at the end of each chapter name.

I'm so so sorry that I was so horrible at keeping up with this story. Please please forgive me:)?


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